BB Cs Jeremy Bowen Criticises Trumps Iran Bombing Decision

Donald Trump is now paying the price of going to war with Iran “without thinking through the consequences”, a senior BBC journalist has declared.

Jeremy Bowen, the corporation’s international affairs editor, also warned that the US president’s attempts to re-open the Strait of Hormuz could see a return to all-out war.

His comments came as Iran’s foreign minister warned that America could be “dragged back into quagmire”.

Trump launched “Project Freedom” at the weekend, vowing that the United States would “guide” stranded ships through the Strait, which has been effectively closed by Iranian attacks since the war began.

That has led to a spike in oil prices and triggered fears of a global economic crisis.

Two US-flagged ships are reported to have passed through the key waterway.

However, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – a Gulf ally of the US – said a tanker affiliated with its state-owned oil company, had been targeted by two drones as it transited the Strait.

On Radio 4′s Today programme, Jeremy Bowen said “Iran was always going to react” to Trump’s plan and warned that it could lead to the collapse of the uneasy ceasefire which has been in place in recent weeks.

“The question is does it end there, or does it slide both of them back into all-out war,” he said.

“This is territory for misperceptions and miscalculations which have been made, and these are the factors which are classic ways of driving the ways that wars escalate, even out of ceasefires.

“The length of time that the Strait of Hormuz stay closed will determine how much more severe this becomes for all of us, as well as the Gulf states.

“You heard President Trump, as ever, being very bullish, but what is happening is [the Gulf states] are seeing the consequences of going to war, assuming an easy victory and without thinking through the consequences of what happens and what to do if it turns out, as has occurred, that it’s not easy.”

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