COMMENTARY | Tensions between Iran and the United States are once again high after the Arab nation took the liberty of publicly displaying a U.S. spy plane it captured in December. According to ABC News, President Obama formally requested the drone be returned to the United States government. The U.S. claims the drone never entered Iranian airspace, and was instead operating over Eastern Afghanistan. Iranian claims are that it was well within their airspace before being taken over electronically and brought down safely.
The President’s formal request for a return of the U.S. property was met with a less-than-cordial response.
Not only did the Iranian government deny the President’s request, but they added insult to injury by immediately commissioning 1/80th-scale replica model toys of the captured RQ-170 Sentinel drone to be made and distributed among the Iranian people. The first one off the line, however, is being shipped to the White House, courtesy of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The situation between the Islamic nation and the Red, White, and Blue has been tense for some time. Now it’s become a full-blown powder keg. The fuse was lit with the tensions over Iran’s nuclear program years ago. It is now burning at a very good rate, and the explosion that could result is one that will be felt throughout the world.
China has been a silent friend of Iran throughout the U.N. sanctions that were embargoed upon the Middle East country for its nuclear program. The Asian nation has been the largest purchaser of Iranian oil. It’s no secret that China and the U.S. have been on rocky ground for quite some time, and this can only add to that tension. Add some bristling by Russia when they announced the development of a 100-ton nuclear ICBM to combat U.S. missile defenses in Europe, and it looks like the U.S. is going to need eyes in the back of its head for the foreseeable future.
The biggest questions are going to be what, if anything, will the U.N. have to say about the situation; what will they decide based on the evidence at hand; and will either side abide by the decision? It wasn’t that long ago that the United States bucked the U.N. decisions about the situation in Iraq; and, obviously Iran is going to be less than cooperative when it comes negotiation time. So, this train could be glued to an inevitable track, heading straight towards the world’s largest powder keg, and we will all witness the explosion this time.
Sources:
Randy Kreider, “Iran Mocks US with Toy Drone” ABC News
Peter Ford, “China: A lifeline for Iran and its oil exports?” The Christian Science Monitor
Laura Rosen, “Moscow, eyeing U.S. missle defense plans, announces work on 100-ton ‘monster’ missle” Associated Content from Yahoo!