Donald Trump’s tactics put general on track to be next Iranian president | Financial Times

Donald Trump’s tactics put general on track to be next Iranian president | Financial Times:

I should know better than to make a prediction about the Middle East. But here I am, making a prediction. The next president of Iran will be Qasem Soleimani, commander of the overseas arm of the hardline Revolutionary Guard and master of Tehran’s influence across the region. And here’s more: if he’s not president in two years, he will be more powerful still — as the kingmaker deciding on the next supreme leader, the highest position in the Islamic republic.

If I’m wrong, I’ll blame the IMF for this bet. It was while reading about the fund’s latest forecasts that I realised the Islamic republic was heading for more militarism. The main beneficiary will be Major General Soleimani, the charismatic 62-year-old soldier already basking in (Iranian-style) glory.

Of course, most of the world, which once looked forward to rehabilitating Iran and ridding it of nuclear weapons, will blame the US administration of Donald Trump — and they would be right. Iran is a troublemaker, no doubt. But it is US radicalism that is now feeding more Iranian extremism.