The killing of a top Iranian scientist on Friday could risk a major war in the region, with all signs pointing to Israel being responsible. The assassination came after a report said President Trump reviewed options to strike an Iranian nuclear site at an Oval Office meeting earlier this month.
Although officials left the meeting assuming a military strike was off the table, other options were left open. Three intelligence officials told The New York Times that Israel was responsible for killing Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. If Israel carried out the assassination, it raises questions about how much the US knew about the operation.
The Times story on Fakhrizadeh’s killing reads: “It was unclear how much the United States may have known about the operation in advance, but the two nations are the closest of allies and have long shared intelligence regarding Iran.”
US officials have yet to publicly comment about Fakhrizadeh’s killing. President Trump retweeted the Times story about the incident and retweeted two tweets from a Haaretz reporter about the killing but made no comments.
Since the story came out that said President Trump considered attacking Iran, Israel has stepped up airstrikes in Syria against what it calls Iranian-linked targets and leaked information to the press that said they are preparing for war with Iran. On the other hand, Iran is exercising caution, urging its allies in the region to avoid provoking tensions with the US.
President Trump considered attacking Iran after a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran was violating more terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Since the US unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, Iran has been gradually violating the deal to gain leverage for future negotiations. All the violations are easily reversible, and Iranian officials have said they can quickly come into compliance with the deal if the incoming administration lifts sanctions.
The US withdrew from the deal after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Mossad obtained thousands of documents that showed evidence Iran was operating a secret nuclear weapons program, despite the JCPOA.
In an April 2018 briefing, Netanyahu presented his evidence and said Fakhrizadeh was leading the secret program. Fakhrizadeh had previously headed Iran’s Amad Project, a nuclear program the US and Israel claimed was a military operation. According to the IAEA and US intelligence, the Amad Project was halted in 2003.
Journalist Gareth Porter demonstrated in a report for The Grayzone that the documents Netanyahu presented were likely fabrications. For example, there was no evidence to show the documents were genuine, and they were missing markings from the relevant Iranian agencies. But Netanyahu’s presentation played its role in convincing the Trump administration to withdraw from the JCPOA.
Now, the Trump administration is planning to sanction Iran every week before Joe Biden is inaugurated on January 20th to sabotage his plan to rejoin the JCPOA. Israel could see the final days of the Trump administration as its last chance to end the JCPOA for good by provoking a military conflict.
The US has reshuffled some military assets over the past few weeks, sending a message to Iran. A Pentagon official told CNN reporter Barbara Starr on Friday that the US is deploying a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf, the USS Nimitz.
Starr said the Nimitz was being moved to the region to provide combat support and air cover while US troops are leaving Afghanistan and Iraq. “The official said the move was decided before news came of the assassination of a prominent Iranian nuclear scientist,” she said. “But the movement of the US forces is an increased deterrence message to Iran regardless the official noted.”
Last Saturday, the US deployed several B-52 bombers to the Middle East. Earlier, the US moved F-16 fighter jets from Germany to the UAE.
While Tehran has vowed to take revenge for Fakhrizadeh, Iranian officials are well aware that Israel is trying to provoke a war and will likely opt for a measured response, at least before January 20th.
I believe Iran will not be baited by Israeli strikes in Syria or this assassination, they will await the outcome of the Trump transition first.
Iran gets constantly labeled as “the foremost state sponsor of terrorism in the world” while it ceaselessly gets threatened by the TWO REAL state sponsors of terrorism- Israel and the USA! The world WANTS Iran NOT to be driven to retaliate yet why should these attacks against it go on if no one is ever going to do anything about the elephant in the room, Israel? Amazing that a massive vote fraud operation just occurred where the media and “leaders” treat the Fraudster-In-Chief Joe Biden as the “President-elect” when it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand how the fraud was carried. Now we have ANOTHER major crime against humanity in the works, ironically by the administration that was just the victim of theft! Something smells fishy, like the Deep State is dangling “help” for Trump is he just pulls the trigger and Iran, the BEAVING NATIOBN, gets molested again!
that’s “BEHAVING NATION”- sorry for typos!
quite a blow to take if their nuclear sites are bombed. it may come down to Russia’s private talks with Iran to decide how they respond.
Putin will “advise” submission, capitulation as he’s now just done with Pashingyan in Armenia and Lukashenko in Belarus.
Accurate sound prints are on record for every major ship that sails the high seas. Passive drone torpedoes sit for years on the sea bed at great depth aimed upward. There is no defense against a swarm of vertically rising torpedoes traveling at great speed. Why do dumb people spend billions of dollars on aircraft carriers that cannot be defended against inexpensive drones?
Note; Chinese technology has sent a manned submersible to a very deep and maybe the deepest place in the pacific.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-11/28/c_139549643.htm
Regional war? Please. The same thing was said a dozen time in the last decade. No one but Iraq and Syria will speak out in defense of Iran, and that’s all they can do. I fear Iran will be abandoned as Libya was nine years ago. The world’s nations are ruled by cowards and criminals.
Israeli/US/Neocon false flag to get war going with Iran which will devolve into WW3. Israel has gotten away with so many false flags, Lavon Affair. USS Liberty, ect over the years, but their 20th century tactics no longer work in the 21st century. The world has grown wise to their tactics. Too late now. Nobody except Israel and Trump and his neocons stand to gain by this stupid act. I bet ala USS Liberty that a USN ship is next on Israel’s false flag list.
For 25 years Netanyahu has claimed Iran is about to produce nukes and destroy Israel. Even best friend USA should be fed up by now. The JCPOA was the best deal they are likely to get, but now that seems doomed . Nobody even thinks of trying peace.
Iran will wait until Biden comes in to work out a new deal plus compensation. Then, when the attention is towards a “historical” deal, Iran will strike its own selected targets. Of course, it remains to be see wether Israel will let Biden achieve his goal.
I’m sure there are iranian agents who could off the officials who run Israel’s nuclear weapons program, no downsides for iran to show they will fight back and to highlight the hypocrisy of israel being so worked up about anyone around having nukes.