The international order stands at a crossroads: either the world upholds multilateral mechanisms under the UN framework, or it allows U.S. unilateralism to plunge the world into broader turmoil, with Iran being just the tip of the iceberg of a systemic collapse, an Iranian expert warned.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Hamzeh Safavi, a professor of Middle Eastern studies at the University of Tehran, said the United Nations was founded to restrain unilateralism through multilateral mechanisms
"In my view, tensions between Iran and the U.S. are rooted in a much broader tension within the international system itself. After the catastrophic experiences of World War I (WWI) and WWII, the international community reached the conclusion that in order to prevent such disasters from recurring; it was necessary to submit to a mechanism known as the United Nations. The idea was that countries should not act unilaterally or outside a shared framework, but rather base their actions on collective wisdom. The goal of that framework was for states to resolve disputes through rules and cooperation, rather than through war, bloodshed, and barbaric behavior, and to encourage a more civilized conduct in the international system," Safavi said.
In the expert's view, the current U.S.-Iran tension is, in essence, the erosion of the postwar international order by the United States. He warns that the world must now choose between two paths -- one rooted in multilateralism and order, the other shaped by U.S.-led interventions and deepening insecurity.
"Yet, in a short span of time, the U.S. has overturned all of this and is essentially saying that it does not recognize these mechanisms at all. The core of my argument is this: the international system now faces a choice. Either it must make a serious effort to preserve the international order, or it must submit to a pattern of interventions and the production of insecurity. In such a scenario, Iran would be only one element in a much broader landscape of instability and chaos. If the international system fails to act, developments in and around Iran will inevitably be affected by that wider disorder," Safavi said.
Iranian expert warns of global turmoil amid rising U.S. unilateralism
A global poll launched by the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Wednesday shows that the scandal over the Epstein files has dismantled America's image as a human rights beacon and exposed systemic corruption within the U.S. political and judicial systems.
The 24-hour survey across CGTN's five language platforms drew some 9,700 participants.
The survey showed 97.1 percent of respondents express deep concern that the widespread moral decay among the elite class revealed by the Epstein case has severely offended human conscience, while 95.6 percent of respondents believe that the U.S. judicial system applies "double standards" when dealing with the powerful elite.
The poll also showed that 93.9 percent of respondents believe that this "selective transparency" by the U.S. Department of Justice has reduced the U.S. judicial system to a "protective umbrella" for the privileged class.
Meanwhile, 89.8 percent of respondents criticize the long-standing inaction of the U.S. judicial system, stating that this case has severely damaged the credibility of the American legal system.
The results of the survey show that the American Dream has utterly degenerated into a delusion of "privilege preying on humanity," CGTN said on Thursday.
The case of the late U.S. financier and convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein has shocked the world. Late last month, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released the remaining batch of documents of the so-called Epstein files, totaling some three million pages, with 2,000 video segments and 180,000 images included, sparking serious scrutiny across the Atlantic and in several other countries.
The latest release of related documents prompted the resignation of several political figures over the nature of their ties to Epstein, who died under mysterious circumstances while in federal custody in 2019.
The handling of the files themselves has been another source of outrage, with numerous redactions raising further questions about who is being protected, while errors by the DOJ exposed a significant amount of victim information, including the names and personal details of nearly 100 victims, causing further fury.
Epstein files scandal exposes deep-rooted corruption in US political, judicial systems: CGTN poll
Epstein files scandal exposes deep-rooted corruption in US political, judicial systems: CGTN poll
