Trump has “buried” the US both in the South Caucasus and in the Middle East: Oleg Makarenko

Political analyst and Middle East expert Oleg Makarenko analyzed the situation in the Middle East in an interview with Alpha News, in particular, Donald Trump’s stated desire to strike Iran with a devastating blow on the night of April 7–8.

“I think a nuclear strike was something to be expected at the moment when the Americans were retrieving their pilot from what Trump called the mountains of Iran. Because if the pilot had been killed, American society would have been primed for the Americans to launch a serious strike against Iran, including a nuclear one. That would have been a point of no return. The moment it became known that the pilot had been rescued and was back in the US, the question of whether nuclear weapons would be used in this conflict immediately fell away. What happened yesterday was nothing more than saber-rattling and putting on a brave face in a losing situation,” the expert said.

The political analyst assessed the two sides’ gains in the Middle East conflict differently.

“Iran, in effect, should be celebrating a victory, while Trump can celebrate his victory in the media space, in his own inflamed imagination, and wherever else he likes — but he did not win. That much is certain,” Makarenko stressed.

Makarenko believes that through its actions, the US has demonstrated its inability to serve as a security guarantor for countries where it claims to have interests.

“I would draw the Armenian state’s attention to the fact that Trump entered that arena, and the question now arises: will he ensure Armenia’s security? The answer is no. Just as he won’t for the Gulf states, just as he won’t for Europe. In the current circumstances, Iran is in a position to dictate terms and it has already signaled those terms to Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey: border changes in this region are not possible. I believe Iran will carry enormous weight in this region going forward, and that Turkey and Azerbaijan will heed it, while the prospects for that corridor will be minimized. So the project is a very big question mark. Trump has effectively buried the United States both in the South Caucasus and in the Middle East,” he concluded.