In an interview on the sidelines of Nikkei's Future of Asia forum in Tokyo, Mahathir highlighted aggressive American leadership and unyielding stances as perpetuating global discord, cautioning that the world might be heading toward war if the U.S. continues to antagonize Russia.
"We may be going towards a third world war because if you press Russia too much and you appear to be wanting to conquer Russia, they may want to use nuclear weapons -- that is going to damage the whole world."
"The U.S. regards anybody who challenges them as the enemy, which is why we have problems involving the U.S. with Iran, Russia and China. The U.S. is not tolerant. People cannot be 100% exactly like you; we accept the differences," he said, adding that Americans have not learned any lessons from past wars.
Mahathir argued that the U.S. has long sought to maintain its dominant position on the global stage since the end of the Cold War, viewing the rise of other nations, especially China, as a direct threat.
"The U.S. has been the No. 1 nation since the last war. That's 60-70 years ago, and the Americans want to retain their top position," he said, emphasizing that China rose to become the world's second-largest economy because it has "the capacity to grow and be No. 1," a development not welcomed by Americans.
Mahathir, who turns 99 in July, served twice as Malaysia's prime minister, first for 22 years from 1981 to 2003 and then more briefly from 2018 to 2020.
The senior statesman has been a strong critic of Western powers amid growing global tensions, especially since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war last October, which has resulted in over 30,000 Palestinian deaths. On the Israeli side, about 1,200 people have died.
"A lot of injustices are committed, but the U.S. and Europe view these injustices as issues that don't concern them. They don't try to stop Israel from committing all kinds of crimes," he said.
"This is a very sad story. Normally, when a crime is being committed, everyone has the right to stop it. But here we see a large-scale crime, and yet nobody can take any action," Mahathir said.
In 2023, the U.S. weapons industry saw a record $80.9 billion in foreign military sales, driven by the conflict in Ukraine and increased global demand for advanced weaponry, including significant deals with Poland and Germany, as announced by the State Department in January.
The industry's growth was also driven by ongoing geopolitical tensions, such as the war in Gaza, underscoring the need for military modernization among U.S. allies.
Commenting on this, Mahathir said the U.S. is the world's biggest arms trader and continually produces new weapons. He claimed it is in Americans' interest to see wars fought elsewhere. "There is this belief in the West that to have peace, prepare for war, but that is wrong. Preparing for war ensures war because to make money from selling weapons, people must fight," he said.
When asked about his views on the U.S. presidential election this November, Mahathir said voters have little to choose from between President Joe Biden, 81, and former President Donald Trump, 77, as both are undesirable.
"We notice that Biden is obviously aging. I don't think he will provide dynamic leadership for the U.S., and they will not fare well under him, even in foreign relations. On the other hand, we have Trump, and he is a very erratic character. What he did doesn't make sense," said Mahathir.
He also expressed hope that the younger generation of Malaysians will learn from history to appreciate the hardships of six decades of development that transformed the country from an agrarian state to an upper-middle-income nation and the third-largest economy in Southeast Asia.
"These younger Malaysians think this is how Malaysia has always been, even 100 years ago. That is the problem we face because the perception, experience and history of the country's development are not as well understood by the present generation as by the first generation after independence," Mahathir said.
"The first generation after independence remembers the time we were under the British, remembers how poor we were. And now