Since his entry into the White House, President Donald Trump has directly or indirectly threatened all countries in the world. Canada, Panama, Mexico, Colombia, member states of the European Union, China, Russia, the Greenland territory, Denmark, Iran and Palestine have been directly threatened. America's withdrawal from international treaties, opposition to global standards and cutting off development aid to poor countries in Africa have been indirect threats made by Trump. His threats, which are aimed at restoring American dominance, have met with reactions from countries and people around the world and promise a kind of opportunity for unity against America, or in other words, strengthening the multilateralism movement. In this regard, the following points are noteworthy.

1. Today, even the countries in the world, which are small in size and population, are not willing to sacrifice their interests to the whims of the United States, and if they are unable to confront it, they will hurt the U.S. with national resistance and reactions. A few years ago, a move by Panama, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic to sever ties with Taiwan and the establishment of relations with China was an important development that showed that even countries that are adjacent to the United States do not think about anything other than their national interests. This happened when then U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, with his radical policies, was trying to convince Trump to pave the way for international recognition of Taiwan in opposition to China. Panama became an ally of Washington in 1989 following the U.S. military invasion of the country and the arrest of General Noriega. During his first term as president, Donald Trump, in a meeting with Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela, encouraged him to distance himself from China and Venezuela, but this did not happen and Panama acted within the framework of its national interests.

2. A few months ago, during his election campaign, Trump repeatedly spoke of China's aggression against the United States, accusing it of causing America to lose the trade war by artificially reducing the value of its currency against the dollar, and he firmly supported the leader of Taiwan. Fareed Zakaria, a theorist and a well-known professor of foreign policy in the United States, wrote in an article in the Washington Post a few days ago: "We may not know of any other president who has made such a continuous verbal attack on another country (China) as Donald Trump has. But what China's realities and strategies show us is that no country except China will benefit from Trump's anti-globalization policies, and a huge opportunity has been created for the Chinese to dominate global trade." In terms of Zakaria's analysis, it can be said that since Trump spoke threateningly to the world, especially to his neighbors, Chinese officials have been trying to replace the United States by making numerous trips to Latin American countries. According to the Bloomberg, the Chinese have recently signed 40 economic agreements with Latin American countries, and the parties have reached significant agreements for billions of dollars in Chinese investment in the region. In South and East Asia, China's main strategy is to use the cancellation of the U.S. agreement with Asia and the Pacific (Trans-Pacific). The aim of this trade agreement, which was concluded between the U.S. and 11 other countries, was to apply tariff pressure on major Asian economies such as Japan, China and Vietnam. Now China is looking to strengthen its relations with countries in the region by seeking opportunities and becoming a serious competitor to the U.S. Australia and New Zealand, as the most important members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, have supported China's alternative version, and other Asian countries will soon announce this.

China's next step is to exploit the leadership vacuum created in the field of global trade due to the possible withdrawal of the U.S. from various agreements. The European Union, with a population of over 500 million, a high GDP, a single currency, and extensive trade on the global stage, is set to become one of China's largest partners, and this process will become even more serious after Trump's recent threats against the European Union. Strengthening and increasing China's relations with the European Union may even lead to an agreement and reconciliation between Russia and Europe on the issue of Ukraine, thus strengthening the multilateral front against the United States.

3. The White House's continued support for Israel, Trump's threats against Gaza, and the issue of the occupation of this strip by the United States and the relocation of its people to Egypt and Jordan, which is a completely inhumane act and contrary to accepted international standards, are also considered a good opportunity for Muslim countries to unite against the U.S. government. Today, even a country like Saudi Arabia, which is considered an ally of the U.S., has reacted negatively to Trump's plan. Fareed Zakaria, analyzing these events, says: "There is no win-win game for Trump. He wants to win and he wants you to lose, even if you are Britain, France, or Switzerland."

4. The threatening policies of the new U.S. president cannot even reduce the country's economic problems, and the negative consequences of the tariff war that is to be imposed on imported goods from Canada, Mexico, China and the European Union will increase the costs of living for the American people.

Trump's self-centered policies during his first term in office have distanced America from the era of superpower status, and the continuation of these policies in his new term will accelerate this trend. Washington's threat-oriented approach to the international community is another sign of the failure of the unilateral and hegemonic policies of the U.S. neoconservatives in the foreign arena, and it could bring other countries to the stage to confront Washington's excessive policies. The result is that if the countries of the world are vigilant, they can use the opportunity of Trump's presence in the White House, and in the meantime, the Islamic Republic of Iran should also play a role in strengthening multilateralism through diplomatic measures and constructive engagement with the world.

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of IRNA or the administration of President Masoud Pezeshkian.)