On Tuesday, Iran responded to a report from The New York Times that said President Trump reviewed options to strike Iran’s main nuclear facility but was talked out of pursuing a military attack. An Iranian spokesman said any attack on Iran would be met with a “crushing” response.
The Times report cited anonymous sources, but so far, no Trump administration officials have challenged the story. The administration is expected to ratchet up pressure on Iran as much as possible before January 20th with the goal of making it difficult for Joe Biden to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal.
President Trump could still opt for other ways to hit Iran’s nuclear program, like a cyber-attack or a covert operation. Back in July, Israel reportedly sabotaged Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility by planting an explosive that caused a fire, setting back the facility’s centrifuge program. The US and Israel launched a cyber-attack on Natanz in 2010, using a virus known as Stuxnet.
European officials spoke with Business Insider and expressed their concern over the situation with the US and Iran. Some officials fear Israel or Saudi Arabia might see the end of the Trump administration as their last chance for a war with Iran. Another fear is that the US will go through with a unilateral action to force a military confrontation with Iran to make it impossible for Biden to return to the nuclear deal.
In July, during a string of mysterious fires and explosions in Iran, officials told Insider that Israel was responsible for some of the incidents, including at Natanz. The officials said Israel was trying to provoke a military confrontation with Iran before President Trump could be voted out.
On Monday, US Central Command said a detachment of US Air Force F-16 fighter jets moved from Germany to the UAE. The base in the UAE the F-16s moved to has been at the center of operations for planes patrolling the Persian Gulf to monitor Iran’s navy. The F-16 movement could be a sign the US is preparing for a wider conflict in the region, or the planes could have been moved to replace F-35s that left the base in October to return to the US.
More ME insanity. More U.S. poodle act for Israel. More damage to U.S. independence. More trouble with Iran that is NOT in U.S. interests. Further evidence that Trump has becúm an Israeli firster. More sorrow for our once great nation.
Trump gotta keep Javanka, Sheldon and Bibi happy. Hope the door hits him in his fat butt on the way out. Unfortunately, Biden/Harris are next up…
It will not change until USans start voting 3rd party just from reflex, paying no attention to corporate media and campaign lies. Self-identifying socialists and libertarians who are elected as Democrats or Republicans immediately defer to “party leadership” as I believe AOC called it. Therefore, never vote D or R, which are both fixated on supporting Israel and continuing the bombing and killing.
Iran should have nuclear weapons so it can keep the US, UK, France, Israel and Saudi Arabia out of its territory. If Iraq kept its WMD’s, no future war would happen there. If Syria had WMD’s, no war would be going on there. If Afghanistan had WMD’s, no war would be going on there.If Cuba had WMD’s, Kennedy would not attempt to overthrow Castro. It is a good thing North Korea has WMD’S so it can keep the USA, Japan and South Korea out of its territory.
For that matter, compare Libya and Pakistan.
Like Iraq, Libya was meek and cooperative. They gave up their WMDs. The United States and NATO attacked Libya, murdered Ghadaffi and turned what had been a semi-functioning country into a failed state, complete with slave markets.
Pakistan is hella unstable, but it has The Bomb and so the United States dare not touch it
In the absence of evidence that Iran has a nuclear weapon ready to be fired at us, in the absence that Iran is attempting a terrorist attack on our armed forces or our territories an attack on Iran without Congressional approval would be a war crime and a violation of our constitution.
Seriously? Like any of that matters. We’ve killed 20 to 30 million without a declaration of war since WW2 and not one war criminal has been prosecuted. That ship sailed looong ago.
Why would an attack by Iran be considered a “terrorist attack?” We are the Numero Uno Terrorist Nation.
A “terrorist attack on our armed forces” is what he said. Think about that. Only Americans would think Iran attacking our MILITARY, which has surrounded Iran on the other side of the world and has a president that has threatened obliteration on them, to be a terrorist attack.
Just how many of those illegal war crimes do you think have already happened in the last 50 years by all democratic and republican administrations ? Assange and wilkileaks reported several war crimes and has been persecuted and prosecuted by both Obama and the Trump administrations We do not control our government , the government controls us .
Unfortunately, the war on terror authorization gives POTUS that alleged power. When the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was named a “terrorist” entity by the marketing boys at Langley, that is what occurred. Until this ” manifest destiny” type authorization is repealed…war will continue. All bloviations about “drawdowns”, or, “ending endless wars” are pointless until this fact is addressed.
And the only thing you ever hear about the authorization is that they want to redo it but never get rid of it. And then they’ll have a clause that gives them the right to do what the original allowed them to do but only “if necessary”. Which covers anything and everything.
Barbara Lee brings periodic Bill’s to shut it down. Obama, to his meager credit, spoke to shutting it down in 2015…crickets.