In a recent interview with Democracy Now, Hossein Mousavian, a Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist at Princeton University, said an escalation of tensions between Tehran and Washington had been expected after the appointment of John Bolton as Trump's national security adviser.
"Everyone knows what is the strategy, the mindset and the plan of [former United Nations] ambassador John Bolton," he said, referring to the fact that the foreign policy hawk has long advocated military strikes against Iran and regime change in the country.
Mousavian says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been pushing the US to attack Iran for years, is currently pulling the strings at the White House, according to Financial Tribune.
“Warmongers at the White House also enjoy the support of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan,” he said.
"Now they have an excellent position at the White House to push … the dream they have had for years and years and years to drag the US into a war with Iran."
Dangerous Situation
"What American Congress members have frequently warned, Iranians have warned, Europeans have warned about is happening, unfortunately," Mousavian said, adding that such a scenario would be "extremely dangerous" for the US, Iran, the region and the international community.
He said Bolton and Netanyahu tried to make a case for the 2003 US war against Iraq by making claims that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, which later proved unfounded.
"Everyone understands that the Iraq scenario is on the table," the expert said. "Personally, I believe President Trump really does not want war. Even he is not after regime change in Iran. But they are … inching him toward a war with Iran."
Mousavian noted that any military clash between Iran and the US would have negative consequences for the entire region, which is still reeling from the pain of miscalculated steps in the past such as the US invasion of Afghanistan.
"After 17 years, over 50% of Afghanistan now is in the hands of the Taliban, and the US is crying to negotiate with Taliban for a face-saving [solution] after thousands of Americans and tens of thousands of Afghans … were killed."
The former diplomat said politicians who advocate the use of force against the Islamic Republic will be seeking to advance their agenda by plotting accidents in the region and blaming them on the Iranian government.
"They want to leave no option for President Trump but to attack Iran."
Nuclear Curbs
On Trump's offer to negotiate with Iranian officials, Mousavian, a senior member of the Iranian nuclear negotiating team from 2003 to 2005, said it was the US president who left the negotiating table by pulling out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
"He should be blamed for leaving the negotiation, not the Iranian side."
He added that the US is "discrediting the highest level of international body on security and politics, which is the United Nations Security Council" by punishing the remaining co-signatories for complying with the agreement, which is enshrined in a UN Security Council resolution.
On Iran's recent decision to scale back some of its nuclear commitments, Mousavian said the move does not violate the accord and was made to send a message to other participants that Tehran cannot continue to unilaterally implement a multinational agreement forever.
Washington's major European allies opposed last year's decision by Trump to abandon the deal, which also includes China and Russia, but Iran says they have not done enough to ensure it receives the economic benefits of the agreement.