Gulf Countries Accept Redeployment of US Forces to Deter Iran

[Valin]

Asharq Al-Awsat

May 18 2019

Saudi Arabia and a number of GCC states have approved Washington’s request to redeploy US forces in the waters and territories of the Arabian Gulf to thwart possible Iranian attacks in the region and not trigger a war with Tehran, informed Gulf sources said.

“Saudi Arabia and the rest of GCC states do not wish to start a war with Iran, but they want to send a strong message to Tehran that it cannot cross the red line by continuing to provoke forces operating in the Arabian Gulf,” the sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday.

They added that Riyadh and the other GCC capitals do not wish to engage in a military confrontation with Tehran because no party would benefit from such actions.

(Snip)

[Valin]

Exclusive: Insurer says Iran's Guards likely to have organized tanker attacks

Jonathan Saul, Gwladys Fouche

May 17 2019

LONDON/OSLO (Reuters) - Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) are “highly likely” to have facilitated attacks last Sunday on four tankers including two Saudi ships off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, according to a Norwegian insurers’ report seen by Reuters.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Norway are investigating the attacks, which also hit a UAE- and a Norwegian-flagged vessel.

A confidential assessment issued this week by the Norwegian Shipowners’ Mutual War Risks Insurance Association (DNK) concluded that the attack was likely to have been carried out by a surface vessel operating close by that despatched underwater drones carrying 30-50 kg (65-110 lb) of high-grade explosives to detonate on impact.

(Snip)

[Draggingtree]

WHO WANTS THIS WAR WITH IRAN?

Pat Buchanan | May 17, 2019

Speaking on state TV of the prospect of a war in the Gulf, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei seemed to dismiss the idea. "There won't be any war. . . . We don't seek a war, and (the Americans) don't either. They know it's not in their interests."

read the full article

[Valin]

17 hours ago, Draggingtree said:

WHO WANTS THIS WAR WITH IRAN?

Pat Buchanan | May 17, 2019

Speaking on state TV of the prospect of a war in the Gulf, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei seemed to dismiss the idea. "There won't be any war. . . . We don't seek a war, and (the Americans) don't either. They know it's not in their interests."

read the full article

 

Quote

Tehran knows this, which is why, despite 40 years of hostility, Iran has never sought war with the "Great Satan" and does not want this war to which we seem to be edging closer every day.

 

Call me crazy, but capturing American sailors, killing American soldiers, and attempting bombing attacks in America, sounds suspiciously like war to me.

[Draggingtree]

5 hours ago, Valin said:

 

 

Call me crazy, but capturing American sailors, killing American soldiers, and attempting bombing attacks in America, sounds suspiciously like war to me.

you "MAYBE" thought Pat would word it ???

[Valin]

40 minutes ago, Draggingtree said:

you "MAYBE" thought Pat would word it ???

 

?

[Draggingtree]

23 minutes ago, Valin said:

 

?

Meaning to me he would support the need to perhaps do something and get off the fence he been on for yrs

[Draggingtree]

President Trump Can Still Avert A Catastrophe With Iran, And He Should

MAY 20, 2019 By Sumantra Maitra

It appears President Trump is cognizant of the slow drift to war with Iran, and is not very happy about it. Someone needs to remind him who is the president.

[Valin]

1 hour ago, Draggingtree said:

Meaning to me he would support the need to perhaps do something and get off the fence he been on for yrs

 

Thanks.

 

Maybe, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting.

[Geee]

Related

[Geee]

U.S. Intel Warns Iran Plotting ‘Tactical Surprise’ Attacks in Gulf

Intelligence indicates that the Iranian regime is using its terror proxy groups to conduct attacks on ships operating in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical Persian Gulf shipping lane that has become the center of international tensions as Tehran seeks to foment instability in reaction to President Donald Trump's efforts to strangle the hardline regime.

U.S. intelligence collected over the past month had indicated that Iran has been installing missiles on small vessels in the Gulf region. Tehran is relying on a large network of terror proxies and allies to attack not only commercial vessels in the region, but also U.S. military assets stationed there.

Iran has a long history of conducting terror attacks in this manner, fueling worry in the Trump administration that Tehran could carry out a large-scale attack via its terror networks. In just the past two years, Iran has been identified as being responsible for at least 143 attacks against shipping vessels in the Gulf, according to expert analyses of the ongoing tensions in the region.