NEW YORK: US President Donald Trump is approaching the Iranian issue with caution because he fears that Iran may repeat Libya’s scenario, th...
NEW YORK: US President Donald Trump is approaching the Iranian issue with caution because he fears that Iran may repeat Libya’s scenario, the New York Post (NYP) newspaper reported.
One of the sources said Trump "doesn’t want it [Iran] to turn into Libya."
"There are two reasons Trump talks about Libya: the first is the chaos after what we did to [Muammar] Gaddafi. The second is the Libya intervention made it more difficult to negotiate deals with countries like North Korea and Iran," said another source who heard the president directly mention the comparison.
According to information obtained by New York Post, Trump favors limited strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in Natanz and Fordow. "Libya was a much more extended kind of bombing commitment, and it ended up being regime change," another source said.
Following the overthrow and assassination of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya ceased to function as a unified state. In recent years, a prolonged power struggle has persisted between the Tripoli-based authorities in the west and their eastern rivals, backed by the Libyan National Army under the command of Khalifa Haftar.
In 2021, the UN-brokered Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Geneva elected an interim executive intended to govern until general elections, which have yet to take place. Armed formations aligned with the rival political factions frequently engage in open confrontation, resulting in numerous casualties.
There are two unrecognized governments in Libya. The first, supported by the United Nations and headed by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, is based in Tripoli. The second, with the powers of a house of representatives, was originally based in Benghazi and later moved to Sirte. It is led by Osama Hammad.
In an interview to Israel’s state-run Kan broadcaster, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyuahu said Israel did not view the overthrow of the Iranian government as its objective. However, he did not exclude the possibility that the Israeli operation may result in this.
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