TEHRAN – In a summit attended by the world’s top security officials which was held in Russia in Khordad (May) this year, I explained the United States’ role in expansion of hybrid threats and its exploitation of mixed financial, economic, and technological tools in order to impose its will on independent countries.

Without doubt, U.S. withdrawal from Barjam (JCPOA) is one of the main manifestations of unilateralism as the major goal of the Trump administration’s foreign policy. This measure is a clear example of a hybrid terrorist operation because of its illegal exploitation of sanctions as a tool against Iran.

The adoption of such approach and the subsequent behaviors of the U.S. were not restricted to withdrawing from Barjam and confronting Iran, but because it is adopting such a policy toward other important international treaties, it is considered an increasing threat for other countries’ national security and the world’s security.

If we examine the U.S. exit from Barjam from the perspective of pursuing its unilateralist policy and implementing hybrid threats to advance it, it is completely clear that adopting such policy by the U.S. only has a “situational effect” on Iran and its “transitional effect”, which changes the equations governing the international system, has targeted Europe and other member states to this multilateral agreement that claim to be actors in international relations.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, in order to protect its independence and counter the illegal behaviors of America – especially after its withdrawal from Barjam, has paid a huge price to stop the unbridled trend of unilateralism by the U.S. in addition to adhering to the accepted commitments.

Europe has been a second-rate and passive actor which has failed to play a role as a united and effective bloc with regard to international relations, despite being humiliated by America and failing to stand up to the destructive effects of Washington’s unilateralism whose scope has expanded to numerous international treaties.

The battlefield of countering America’s unilateralism, more than being an arena for examining the strength and capacity of the Islamic Republic of Iran to continue the path taken, is a harsh and dangerous arena for experimenting Europe’s determination in the area of defending its vulnerable identity and security against the U.S. unilateralist approach.

In the event that Trump removes the obstacle to eliminating Europe’s influence on the world’s equations, there would be no reason for the next U.S. presidents – whether Republican or Democrat – to avoid taking advantage of its benefits in order to maximize U.S. interests in the face of a weakened Europe.

With continuation of such trend, it is highly predictable that new extremist factions might gain power in Europe in order to revive the lost identity and independence of the continet in the current humiliating conditions. The responsibility of the formation of future structural and security challenges in Europe directly lies with the current leaders of Europe.

MH/PA