Since Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed in an apparent Israeli plot, Israel has been hyping the threat of Iranian retaliation and warning that an attack could happen anywhere. Adding to the hysteria, a spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said Israel expects that an Iranian attack could come from Iraq or Yemen.
In an interview with the Saudi newspaper Elaph, IDF Spokesman Hidai Zilberman said Israel is monitoring Iran’s activity in Iraq and Yemen, calling the two countries Iran’s “second circle” after Lebanon and Syria.
The US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia falsely label Yemen’s Houthis as an Iranian proxy. Houthi attacks inside Saudi Arabia are often framed as Iranian operations despite the five-year US-backed Saudi-led siege on Yemen that has killed hundreds of thousands.
In Iraq, the US generally blames any violence on what it labels are “Iran-backed” militias. Last week, President Trump blamed Iran for a rocket attack on the US embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone and said he would hold Iran “accountable” if any Americans are killed in Iraq.
Iran denied any role in the Baghdad attack and has warned its allies in Iraq not to provoke the US, hoping to avoid a military confrontation before President Trump leaves office. Some militias rejected Iran’s warning, and there are plenty of groups inside Iraq with their own reasons to attack US forces.
While Iran has urged caution in the region during this sensitive time for US-Iran relations, Israel has stepped up its provocations. Besides being the likely perpetrator of Fakhrizadeh’s assassination, Israel has continued airstrikes in Syria and sailed a submarine through the Suez Canal in a message to Iran. When asked about the submarine maneuver, Zilberman said Israeli submarines are quietly “sailing everywhere.”
Zilberman also addressed Israeli operations in Syria. According to The Times of Israel, Zilberman said Israel had used 500 smart missiles in Syria over the past year. He boasted that neither Iran nor the Syrian government has responded to the Israeli strikes.
Iran has a presence in Syria, but it is overblown by Israel to justify airstrikes. Despite the relentless Israeli bombing campaign in Syria, Israel will almost certainly blame Iran for any attacks on Israeli targets that come from Syria.
an amerikan plot–not israeli
More precisely a plot by the United Sociopaths of America (USA).
Remember the Iran contra deal, why do they always forget the other two players The US and Israel. Israel realizes that only Iran in the whole of the Middle East has the ability to stand up to Israel, and has been trying to get the US to wage war against them. Iraq used to be the country Israel was worried about but successfully convinced the US to wage war against them! The only advantage that Israel has over Iran militarily is the Israelis have nuclear weapons, and the US. The tail has been wagging the dog for many years trying to get the US to Attack, I hope the latest attempts via false flag attacks in Iraq dont succeed whether ISIS or Israeli made. That the US has sailed an OHIO class Submarine into the Gulf and there is an unstable President in the Whitehouse, means that for the next few weeks we are going to be on tender hooks as to whether a Nuclear Conflict takes place in the next month. Be clear if the US fires at Iran then Iran will fire at Bahrain, that Submarine all US Ships in the region, and Israel.
The absence of reaction is fascinating. It is almost as if something is afoot, and fly-swatting is the waste of energy. Saving it for a real thing.
I would not count on any Gulf state to start hostilities with Iran. None of them is defensible, Even if US starts hostilities, Gulf allies will pay — especially someone like UAE. Israel has no defense to speak off. Iron Dome sounds impressive — but it is not exactly proven capability. It is hard to visualize any conceivable winning scenario for US in Iran.
Yemen is literally twice as far from Israel as iran
“Zilberman also addressed Israeli operations in Syria. According to The Times of Israel, Zilberman said Israel had used 500 smart missiles in Syria over the past year. He boasted that neither Iran nor the Syrian government has responded to the Israeli strikes.”
Some day when you aren’t latched to a superpower’s underbelly someone is going to bitch slap that smugness into yesterday. I hope I live to see it.
Israel military is crying again…!
And this is why we are committing genocide in Yemen. So that the Likudists can have a better night’s sleep against what they think might happen in the future as a remote possibility. Starve hundreds of thousands of Yemenis today just in case Iran is able to install the world’s most illogical missile base that is 4 times farther away from Israel than Iraq.
As usual, it is the Netanyahu régime which is paranoid. Iran is NOT a threat and needs to be treated as the sovereign power it is, allowed to have allies and live at peace.
Hezbollah is very real and a treat. Iran knows that that Persia was once a great power, and would like to assume that role again-Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem are their ultimate targets, as the triumph of Shiitism over Sunnism.
^ what happens when western militants project their delusions on to other cultures ^
You subscribe to the delusion that only westerners can behave wickedly. The Mideast was wracked by power grabs and warfare for thousands of years before the West had any interest in them. Yes, the West diddled with Iran, yes Iran persecutes minorities and those who dissent, yes, Iran opposed any sort of Oslo talks and pushes power overpeace.
Ooh, sorry jake, didn’t realize this was an archeology blog.
You