Iran could strike US Embassy in TT

Former UWI Professor of International Relations, Andy Knight, said that it wanted to, Iran has the ability to strike at American targets almost anywhere in the world, “including the US Embassy here in Trinidad.”

He was responding on Friday to US President Donald Trump ordering an airstrike which killed Iran’s top military commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad. Trump said Soleimani was plotting to kill Americans and he ordered the deadly drone attack which killed Iran’s second most powerful person in Iran, to “save many American lives.”

Knight said Iran is “a terrorist state that has mastered the art of asymmetric conflict.” He added: “It may not engage the US in a direct military conflict. But it knows how to utilise proxies effectively.” He said the longer term impact in TT of this US assassination of Soleimani is the possibility that his death will be viewed by the Iranian people as martyrdom.

“And it is likely that Iran will make the Middle East a more unstable region and this will have an impact on all oil producing economies, TT included.” National Security Minister Stuart said he has received a statement from the US State Department after the airstrike and it is a matter the ministry is monitoring.

“And as with all global developments in the security sphere we will continue to monitor,” Young said in a brief statement to Newsday. Criminologist Daurius Figueira told Newsday the reaction to the US strike has been for the prices of oil and gold to increase. “Other than that I don’t see any impact to TT.”

Asked if there would be any security impact, Figueira said there would not be any from Iran. “The major concern is a long and grinding engagement between America and its allies and Iran and its allies which will eventually consume the Middle East. That will definitely impact TT in the long run.”

He said, however, in the short term there is no Iranian threat to TT because there is no active involvement of Iranians in any form of terrorist activity such as that of Islamic State, and the two are sworn enemies. “So any impact to us would come as the economic waves roll through. This is an engagement that will be played out in the Middle East.”