Heightened US Tensions with Iran Risks Unthinkable War

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

What's unlikely is very much possible by accident or design because of Washington's imperial agenda, a scourge threatening everyone everywhere.

Trump and his extremist geopolitical team are likeminded about wanting Iran returned to US client state status.

They disagree on how to pursue their aims. Pompeo reportedly favors war on Iran by other means, wanting its economy crushed, falsely believing its authorities will cave to US demands — what they haven't done for 40 years and show no signs of yielding to unacceptable demands.

Last week, Pompeo turned truth on its head, falsely claiming Iran poses a "real" and "credible" threat — a bald-faced Big Lie, repeated by Bolton, other regime officials, and establishment media, overwhelmingly hostile toward Tehran without just cause.

War is Bolton's favored strategy against all nations the US doesn't control, Iran high on his target list, the world community strongly against attacking the country. 

Israel, the Saudis and UAE are exceptions to the prevailing worldview, shared by Pentagon commanders, knowing war on Iran would be their most challenging undertaking since the defeat of US forces in Southeast Asia.

During a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minster Sinzo Abe in Tokyo on Tuesday, Trump lied claiming he's "not looking for regime change," adding: 

"We're looking for no nuclear weapons" Iran doesn't seek, abhors, and wants eliminated everywhere — Israel the region's only nuclear armed and dangerous country Trump and nearly the entire Congress one-sidedly supports, ignoring its nuclear capabilities and threat they pose.

Last week, Bolton cited nonexistent US intelligence information suggesting a "deep and serious" Iranian threat that doesn't exist.

On Wednesday during a visit to the UAE, he lied accusing Iran of attacking vessels belonging to the country and Saudi Arabia in early May.

He repeated the long discredited Big Lie about Tehran seeking nuclear weapons, including steps "to reduce the breakout time to" develop them.

According to the NYT, Trump and Bolton "never bonded on a personal level." DJT "is not fond of Mr. Bolton, according to (unnamed) advisers and associates, and he makes no secret of it in private," adding:

They "diverge sharply over their approach to the world." Replacing him would be a positive step. According to an unnamed Trump regime official, "(i)f it was up to (Bolton), we'd be in four (new) wars now — including against Iran, Venezuela, and North Korea.

During a Tuesday press briefing, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus falsely accused Iran of posing an "imminent threat" to the US and its regional partners when no threat exists — not now or earlier.

Separately, on talks between Venezuelan and opposition figures in Oslo, Norway, she made the Trump regime's position clear, saying:

"(T)he only thing to negotiate with Nicolas Maduro is (sic) the conditions of his departure" — what she called "a precondition for progress," why talks are going nowhere no matter how many rounds are held.

The same thing holds for North Korea, Iran, and other sovereign independent countries. The US doesn't negotiate. It demands. Rare exceptions prove the rule.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Trump regime is targeting the Iranian people with economic terrorism, opposing bilateral talks as long as its actions remain hardline.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi struck the same note on Tuesday, saying Tehran "pays no attention to mere words and rhetoric," adding: 

"What matters to us is that this shift in tone will be complemented with a change in (US) behavior and approach" — not a hint of it forthcoming despite somewhat softened rhetoric by Trump.

Illegally abandoning the JCPOA, along with waging all-out war by other means on Iran based on Big Lies, show the Trump regime's real objectives toward the country.

On Wednesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov met with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Tehran on issues relating to their bilateral relations, including hostile US actions toward the Islamic Republic, the JCPOA, and Russia's support for the country.

In early May, Sergey Lavrov and Zarif met in Moscow, Russia's foreign minister saying the following:

Kremlin authorities oppose "the irresponsible behavior of the United States (for) pull(ing) out of its (JCPOA) commitments that are set forth in the corresponding UN Security Council resolution" — making them binding international law, adding:

Both countries are pursuing "the development of cooperation in trade, the economy, humanitarian affairs, and other spheres in keeping with the agreements reached by President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Iran Hassan Rouhani."

Moscow rejects unlawful sanctions imposed on Iran by the Trump regime. Both nations maintain normal political, economic, financial, trade, and mutual security relations.

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