MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/. The aggressive policy of the US regarding Iran has the goal to push Teheran from the key players on the global oil market, Azhdar Kurtov, editor-in-chief of the Problemy Natsionalnoy Strategii (National Strategy Issues) magazine and leading expert from the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, said on Tuesday.
"[US President] Donald Trump is proficient in business and it does not tolerate serious competitors. If we consider this version, than the US policy is aimed at getting Iran out of the key players in the global oil market," the expert said.
Talking about Washington’s policy, Kurtov noted that Americans "create crises in different regions of the world and thereby weaken their foreign policy competitors."
"The US has long been making plans to increase domestic hydrocarbon production and to turn the country from an importer into a weighty exporter of such products," he stressed.
In his opinion, "if the tension around Iran grows, if sanctions prohibiting Iran from supplying oil to different regions of the world are toughened, the chances of the US to take this Iranian niche with its own oil and gas will increase."
At the same time, such a policy may strike another competitor to the US, which is the EU, Kurtov said.
"Washington is probably concerned that the prospects of attracting European companies to the Iranian economy after the lifting of sanctions from Iran may lead to successful cooperation of Brussels with Tehran," he added.
The expert also stressed that because of Washington's actions, the hard-won contract (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for the Iranian nuclear program), which guarantees security in the Middle East region, "is now in limbo."
"If Americans return to the policy of pressure on Iran, it will definitely respond in the same way. That means that we may face a new round of tension in the region. In any case, the current US policy once again shows that they are not a responsible global player," he concluded.