This short interview was conducted with Shodi Davlatovich Shabdolov at the beginning of January 2020 and published by Asia-Plus on January 7, 2020.
“The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and the current occupant of the White House himself, through their actions, statements, and attacks against states and politicians they find objectionable, resemble madmen who say whatever they want without fearing the consequences of their actions and statements,” said the well-known Tajik politician Shodi Shabdolov in an interview with Asia-Plus.
Addressing the current tension that has arisen between Washington and Tehran following the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad, Shabdolov emphasized that apparently Trump and his administration today do not have sufficient information about Iran’s military, political, and economic power.
“The United States, having achieved easy victories over the regimes of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya and Saddam Hussein in Iraq, apparently underestimates Iran’s strength and its potential, and this misunderstanding may turn into the beginning of the end for Washington itself,” the politician emphasized.
Shabdolov believes that after the killing of General Soleimani, Iran’s withdrawal from previously reached nuclear agreements has brought official Tehran closer than ever to creating weapons of mass destruction.
According to the politician, Iran’s current military and economic power, even without nuclear weapons, can successfully withstand U.S. threats, and Trump’s statements about Washington’s readiness to strike Iranian cultural heritage sites are turning the civilized society of the entire world, including in the United States, against his policy.
“I am an optimist by nature and am confident that the wise people of this world will resolve the current crisis without war, but if it happens, everyone will suffer from it, including Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the entire Middle East. Russia, China with their investments in the region’s economy, the United States and its allies around the world,” the politician emphasized.
At the same time, he is convinced that in a war with Iran, the United States will not have many allies, including among NATO countries.
“Many clear-minded politicians in Berlin, Paris, Tokyo, London, Moscow, and Beijing understand that a U.S. war with Iran is a road to nowhere; it is a threat not only to the security of Washington and Tehran, it is a threat to all of humanity,” Shabdolov concluded.
Shodi Davlatovich Shabdolov (October 17, 1943 – October 19, 2023) was a Tajik politician who was the chairman of the Communist Party of Tajikistan from 1991 until July 2016, when the party replaced him with Ismoil Talbakov.
Shodi Davlatovich Shabdolov was born in Khorog, Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO).
Shabdolov was a member of the Parliament of Tajikistan (1989-2015). He had scientific degree of the Candidate of Sciences in Economics.
