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Iran: Gulf Is Worried About War With Trump

Could “engulf the whole region and lead to a world war.”

Iran’s defense minister warned Sunday that U.S. allies in the Gulf states are concerned over peace in the region in light of Donald Trump’s surprise election victory. “Even though a businessman, the assistants that... [Trump] has chosen may map a different path for him, and this has led to unease, particularly among Persian Gulf countries,” Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said at a conference in Tehran, according to local media cited by Reuters. Trump vowed to take a harder line against Iran than the Obama administration throughout his campaign, criticizing Obama’s nuclear pact as a “disaster” and “the worst deal ever negotiated.” The Gulf states fear Trump may pull out of the agreement and otherwise create instability in the area, Dehghan said. “Enemies may want to impose a war on us based on false calculations and only taking into consideration their material capabilities,” he warned. Any such war would mean the “destruction” of Israel, he said, adding that the war would “engulf the whole region and could lead to a world war.”