- Jeffrey Sachs urged global leaders to stop Trump’s threats to Iran over Strait of Hormuz
- Sachs called Trump and Netanyahu unstable and warned of potential world disaster
- Trump gave Iran 48 hours to reopen Strait or face destruction of energy infrastructure
Economist, United Nations advisor, and Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs has urged global leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China's Xi Jinping, to ask US President Donald Trump not to "gamble the world's future" with his "reckless threats" to Iran. Talking to NDTV, Sachs labelled Trump and "his partner in Israel", Premier Benjamin Netanyahu, as "unstable" and "reckless" people who, according to him, could take the world to a disaster.
The remarks came after the US president on Saturday gave Iran a 48-hour ultimatum to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping or face the destruction of its energy infrastructure. Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US would "hit and obliterate" Iranian power plants -- "starting with the biggest one first" -- if Tehran did not fully reopen the strait within 48 hours (23:44 GMT on Monday or 5:14 am IST on Tuesday), according to the time of his post.
The threat, made just a day after the US leader said he was considering "winding down" military operations, came as the waterway -- through which a fifth of global oil and gas flows -- remained effectively closed.
"We are in one of the most dangerous moments of modern history. Donald Trump is, in my opinion, a completely unstable person who could take the world to disaster. His partner, Netanyahu in Israel, is similarly unstable and reckless. They are gambling with the future of the world. They need to be stopped by world leaders such as Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, President Xi (Jinping) and President (Vladimir) Putin, explaining to Trump that you cannot gamble the future of the world on your reckless threats," Sachs said.
"He has no right to threaten all of humanity with this absolutely reckless escalation. And as the Iranians have said, since they are under existential threat from the United States and Israel, they will fight back. They will destroy a tremendous amount of the physical infrastructure of the Gulf region, which is home to one-third of the world's oil supplies. They will destroy a lot of Israel. We could see escalation to a full world war," he added.
According to the economist, the US commander-in-chief is an ignorant person who "does not have a strategy".
"He improvises, but he's improvising with the risk of the whole world at this point," he said.
Sachs believes that unless there is effective intervention by the outside powers, especially the BRICS countries, Trump won't stop in his endeavours.
"The BRICS represent half of humanity. It represents half of the world economy. It's very powerful. It needs to speak with a clear voice right now, not punitively against Iran, which is under attack, but directly to the two aggressors, which are Israel and the United States," he said.
The American economist called the Iran conflict the "war of choice for domination" over the Middle East by Israel and the United States. "Nobody could want this. Nobody can believe that this is prudent, safe, legal, and responsible. No one can believe that this is going to turn out well. It needs to be stopped," he said.
Pointing to Trump's contradicting comments about the US requesting allies to help open the Strait Of Hormuz and then telling the world that the US does not need support, Sachs said, "We're watching a disordered mind. He's an old man. He's a confused man. He cannot even utter a single sentence that isn't filled with internal contradictions."
Talking to the media about US action on the strategic waterways, Trump had said, "It's a simple military manoeuvre. It's relatively safe, but you need a lot of help...And NATO could help us, but they so far haven't had the courage to do so. And others could help us. But, you know, we don't need it. You know, at a certain point, it'll open itself...But we've defeated the enemy."
Sachs said the world needs to avoid an escalation in the war that could be devastating for the entire world. He pointed out that Trump doesn't listen to his aids or his Congress, but he listens to his peers, including PM Modi and President Putin.
"He doesn't listen to public opinion, but he listens to his peers. He does not want to be told that you're on the wrong track. He doesn't want to fail in the sight of his peers. They need to help him get out of this mess before it becomes a complete global disaster, not afterwards. This is the time when he needs advice from the BRICS countries, honest advice, not games, not, 'Oh, well, we're with you, Mr President,' but clarity that what has started a few weeks ago is a calamity for the world. And it needs to stop," he added.
