
TOKYO: Outgoing US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel classified Iran as the “weak link” in what he terms the “axis of autocracies,” which he says consists of Iran, Russia, China, and North Korea.
“Iran is facing the illegitimacy of the government with its own people,” Rahm told a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan on Friday. “The Iranian government has fought the people of Iran three different times and killed the people of Iran to hold on to power.”
Rahm said Iran’s inflation is running at 40 percent, and it is facing a major drought and experiencing a major food crisis. On top of that, it has faced a major regional blow with attacks by Israel on its allies in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.
Rahm emphasized the urgency of addressing Iran’s issues, stating that they cannot, as a country that exports oil and gas, keep the lights on longer than two hours a day. He stressed the need to break the ‘axis of autocracy’ by dealing with the weak link of Iran but cautioned against assuming that this meant military action.