Why Trump Is the Best Option for Iran

Iranian society is so politicized that not only internal elections but also the process of election of the US president is also important for us. During days when the US presidential candidates are campaigning for November elections, the question raised is, which one of the present candidates would be a more suitable option for us.

If we consider our national interests, there is perhaps less doubt that the leftist Bernie Sanders would be the most ideal option for us. He is the one who harshly speaks against the approach of the Saudis in instigating Wahabi and Islamic extremism in the region. He criticizes Israel’s behavior in many cases and considers the necessity of more cooperation with Iran to resolve the crises in the Middle East. He has never supported US military presence in other regions of the world and has always been a staunch supporter of the nuclear agreement in the US Senate.

Although Sanders gained victories in his path, he lost to Clinton in New York and he may need a miracle to remain in this race.

Despite all oppositions in the Republican Party against Donald Trump, he was able to defeat his powerful rivals including Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, John Kasich and Ted Cruz and become the candidate of the Republican Party in the upcoming elections.

Now the question is, which one of the candidates, Trump or Clinton, will be a better option for Iran?

There is a principle in international relations called political legitimacy for individuals, personalities, political systems and international organizations. If this principle is damaged, it will have heavy costs for the political actor. Donald Trump is among the main examples of political actors who are faced with lack of legitimacy. His harsh, unwise, threatening, insulting and of course provocative statements against Muslims, Latinos, immigrants, Blacks and, of course, women are the main reason behind the formation of such an atmosphere against him. Furthermore, his lack of necessary insight in comprehending different political issues whether internal or external has added to his illegitimacy.

It is on this basis that Italy’s Prime Minister officially supports Hilary Clinton, David Cameron considers Trump’s ideas dangerous to the world; Merkel’s deputy disagrees with the statements made by this New York billionaire; Japan condemns his statements …

Of course, the American people are the ones who choose their president and nobody else has the right to choose Obama’s successor. Just assume that Trump is elected in November by gaining the necessary electoral votes. Then we will be faced with a world that does not have a positive view of the US president and there will be serious doubts about his political legitimacy. Of course the conditions of that time will be different from the present conditions; meaning that Trump will make wiser statements and western leaders will not take harsh positions against his remarks but at the same time public belief about Trump will remain untouched.

What will happen then? The US will no longer be able to unite the world on different issues. Exerting pressures on Russia will not be supported as it was during the Obama administration and the challenges of the fight against terrorism will not be led by Washington. The best part of this equation will form in the Middle East where Europe would design strategies to resolve the crises based only on its own interests.

Under such conditions, Europe will no longer pursue issues under US pressure including imposing pressure on Iran which does not have much benefit for them. Challenges between Iran and Europe will be reduced and the atmosphere of cooperation between Tehran and Brussels will further grow. At the same time, the US, which would have a leader with political illegitimacy, will no longer be able to play a determinative role in relations between Iran and Europe.

In other words, the least impact of Trump’s presidency in the US will be that Europe will not pursue a similar path to that of the US. Of course, it would be too optimistic to think that Europe will pursue a completely independent path by Trump’s coming to power, but we must, at least, accept that Europe will no longer follow the US path as it did during the Obama administration.