December 10, 2019
Ratcheting economic
sanctions, military force encirclement, inciting seditious violence and
relentless war rhetoric. This all by the US and its allies over the past year
towards Iran, yet it is Iran which is portrayed as posing “potential threats”
to American interests.
The hastily arranged meeting
last week between Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo had the hallmarks of a war-plan summit amid a peak in renewed media
provocation against Iran.
In the last weeks there has
been a flurry of US media reports claiming that Iran is secretly moving
ballistic missiles into Iraq and elsewhere across the region. As usual the
media credulously cite anonymous intelligence and Pentagon officials on those
claims.
Here’s CNN quoting one administration official: “There has been
consistent intelligence in the last several weeks,” the official said,
referring to “a potential Iranian threat against US forces and interests in the
Middle East.”
Last month, the head of US
CentCom made a similar dire forecast of Iranian intentions. General Kenneth
McKenzie said: “I would expect that if we look at the past three or
four months, it’s possible they [Iran] will do something that is
irresponsible.”
Notice how General McKenzie
tacitly acknowledges the background of the Trump administration’s “maximum
pressure” campaign of economic sanctions and US military force buildup against
Iran as if that is somehow normal international conduct. Then he turns all that
US aggression on its head by accusing Iran of possibly doing “something that is
irresponsible”.
There are worrying signs
that the US and Israel are redoubling the pressure of war against Iran. This
pressure has to be seen in the context of a formidable deployment of US
military forces – troops, warplanes and warships in the region since May this
year. The earlier buildup was announced on the basis of unfounded claims that
Iran was preparing to launch offensive operations against American interests.
Then came a series of mysterious attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf
over the summer which Washington blamed on Iran without evidence.
Street protests in Iran
since mid-November over fuel-price increases appear to be hijacked by
subversive elements. President Trump and other US officials have openly called
for the protests to destabilize the Iranian government.
Fresh claims that Iran is
sending ballistic missiles to neighboring countries appear to be setting the
stage for justifying a pre-emptive US attack on Iran.
No doubt the Iranian
government is under severe pressure from the economic hardship that the US has
re-imposed unlawfully since Trump dumped the international nuclear accord in
May 2018. No doubt too Iran is apprehensive about the relentless military
threats against it from Washington and its Israeli ally. Almost certainly, Iran
will have mobilized forces in the reasonable calculation that it may come under
attack at any moment.
But, perversely, US intelligence
and military officials are interpreting Iranian defensive moves as “indications
of a potential threat” to American “interests”.
The meeting last week
between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo signals a foreboding development. Recall that this is in the
context of US media reports of Iranian ballistic missiles being deployed and
of reports that the Trump administration is considering a
doubling of troop levels in the Middle East to 28,000, as well as sending more
missiles and warplanes.
Netanyahu met Pompeo in
Lisbon, Portugal, on Wednesday, December 04. The meeting was called urgently
and was unscheduled. Netanyahu – who is fighting for his political survival
over corruption charges – tried to arrange discussions with Pompeo on the
sidelines of the NATO summit near London, but according to Israeli media reports there was not enough time
for security logistics to be put in place by the British. That indicates the
Israeli leader was trying to meet Pompeo in a hurry.
When Netanyahu met with
Pompeo in Lisbon, he said at the start of their discussions: “The first
subject that I will raise is Iran. The second subject is Iran, and so is the
third. And many more.
The Israeli premier added:
“We have been fortunate as President Trump has led a consistent policy of
exerting pressure on Iran. Iran is increasing its aggression in the region as
we speak, even today, in the region. They are trying to have staging grounds
against us and the region from Iran itself, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and
Yemen and we are actively engaged in countering that aggression.”
Netanyahu also gloated that the “Iranian empire [sic] is tottering…
let’s make it totter even more.”
For several months Iran has
steadfastly refused to take the bait of war laid down by the Trump
administration. But with pressures mounting both within the country and
externally, it would be imperative for the Iranian authorities to marshall
their defenses.
US intelligence and military
officials are using contorted logic to accuse Iran of posing a threat, and the
American corporate media are ably assisting in the propagation of this
oxymoron.
Netanyahu’s hasty meeting
with Pompeo last week suggests that the US and Israel are putting the final
touches to their malignant masterpiece for provoking a war with Iran.
Finian CUNNINGHAM
Former
editor and writer for major news media organizations. He has written
extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several
languages
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