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Foreign affairs expert Waiel Awwad said on Sunday that US President Donald Trump appeared to have realised the dangers of a full-scale war with Iran, as countries in the Gulf region continue urging Washington to avoid further escalation amid concerns over the strategic energy chokepoint- the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking to ANI after Trump, in a post on Truth Social, had announced that the US had stopped strikes on Iran after what he claimed was Tehran seeking a deal, Awwad said that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and other regional stakeholders were pressing Trump not to intensify the conflict. "Most of the countries in the region and the stakeholders, basically the GCC governments, are already pleading to President Trump not to escalate the war because he's threatening to attack the civil installations, the water installations and every bridge of Iran," Awwad told ANI. He noted that Iran had warned it would retaliate by targeting neighbouring countries if attacked, raising fears of a wider regional conflict. "This will widen the war. This will block the Strait of Hormuz totally. It will destroy the water supply. People will suffer," he said. Highlighting the larger implications of the widening of the conflict, Awwad said millions of workers, including around 10 million Indians in the Gulf region, could be affected if the conflict escalates. "There are not only the people of this region-- there are millions of workers, including 10 million Indians in this part of the world. So unless and until President Trump realised the danger of going for a full-scale war, then it will be a catastrophe for everybody," he said. Awwad added that neither Iran nor other countries in the region wanted an open-ended conflict. "Iran and the rest of the nations are not willing to have an open and all-time war. This sort of escalation by President Trump is not going to lead to any widespread war at the moment. At the moment, it is just tit for tat," he said. The remarks come as US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday (local time) the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, subject to being able to rapidly make a deal with the Persian Gulf country, while noting that Israel has joined him in this commitment. Trump said there have been urgent appeals from Middle Eastern Countries to hold off any strike as "perimeters of a deal have been agreed to". He asserted this would include immediate and total opening of the Hormuz Strait and an end to Iran's nuclear threat. (ANI)
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