Iran urging caution, Israel is stepping up attacks inside Syria
Posted on tegories
Tensions have been high in the Middle East since The New York Times reported that President Trump reviewed options to strike an Iranian nuclear facility during an Oval Office meeting earlier this month.
Officials left the meeting assuming a military strike was off the table for now, but the president left other options open. Covert options like cyberattacks are certainly on the table for the US. Another possibility is that US allies in the region take it upon themselves to stir up a military confrontation with Iran.
Over the past week, Israel has stepped up its attacks inside Syria against what it calls Iranian-linked targets. Last week, Israel attacked a wide range of targets inside Syria and released a video of some of the strikes, a departure from the usual ambiguity surrounding Israeli airstrikes in Syria.
Last week’s strikes came after Israeli officials said explosives were found on the Israeli side of the border with Syria and claimed “Iranian-led” forces had planted them. Since then, several other Israeli attacks on Syria have been reported. The latest took place on Thursday morning. A UK-based monitor said 19 members of a Shia militia were killed.
Read more at news.antiwar.com
Pompeo’s Trip to Israel: That Says It All
Posted on In November 2020, as dusk settled in on the Trump administration, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to Israel. His trip not only confirmed that the new Israel-Arab peace deals were never about new peace deals – they couldn’t be because they made no new peace – but about recognizing and cementing the occupation and starting a new Middle East arms race that has Iran as its finish line.
Pompeo In His Own Words
In the most telling formulation of the of the Middle East peace deals uttered by an American spokesman since they were signed, Pompeo made it clear that the deals were really about two things: aggressively confronting Iran and setting the precedent that deals could be made in the middle east without considering the Palestinians while cementing the occupation.
In a little reported admission, Pompeo told the Jerusalem Post that central to the Trump administration’s “Vision for Peace” in the Middle East were the twin pillars of identifying and isolating “Iran as the prime actor who is causing instability in the Middle East, and finally [overturning] the notion that you can’t do anything until you solve the Israel-Palestinian conflict.” With that confessional formulation, Pompeo made it clear that the plans with the United Arab Emirate (UAE), Bahrain and Sudan were really not peace plans, but war plans against Iran that not only allowed, but set the US stamp of approval on Israeli occupied territory. Pompeo called these new understandings of the Middle East “historic.”
Read more at original.antiwar.com
Israeli Military Prepares for Possibility Trump Will Attack Iran
Israeli Military Prepares for Possibility Trump Will Attack Iran
The New York Times reported earlier this month that Trump reviewed options to strike an Iranian nuclear site
Posted on egories
Senior Israeli officials told Axios that in recent weeks, Israel’s military has been instructed to prepare for a possible US military strike on Iran before President Trump leaves office. The officials anticipate “a very sensitive period” before Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20th.
Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that President Trump reviewed options to strike an Iranian nuclear site but was talked out of pulling the trigger by his advisors. Officials left the meeting thinking a military strike was off the table for now, but the president left other options open.
The Israeli officials told Axios that they expect the US will give them prior notice of a planned attack but fear it may not be sufficient to fully prepare. The officials said that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are preparing for either direct retaliation from Iran or through groups it supports in Gaza, Syria, or Lebanon, all areas that Israel frequently bombs.
Read more at news.antiwar.com
With clock ticking, many fear a Trump military move against Iran
Trump is piling sanctions on Iran to make a return to the JCPOA more complicated. But is a strike against the Islamic Republic feasible?
Ali Harb
24 November 2020
Tensions and anticipation are building up as the transfer of power starts in Washington with the incoming administration expected to reverse US President Donald Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran and return to the nuclear deal.
Last week, Trump – according to the New York Times – asked to assess military options for a possible strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. Tehran has warned of a “crushing response” if it is attacked.
On Tuesday, Middle East Eye correspondent Suadad al-Salhy reported that Iranian officials, worried that Trump may “drag the region into an open war before leaving”, have instructed their Iraqi allies to halt attacks on US troops and interests.
The Israeli military is also preparing for the possibility of a US attack on Iran during the “very sensitive period” of power transition in Washington, Axios reported on Wednesday.
Read more at https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/trump-military-move-against-iran
