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US forces and allies will soon be forced out of the Persian Gulf waters, where they have been seeking to establish a foothold for years, says Iran's navy commander.The unforgivable has been done and it has served not only to unite all of Iran, but the entire region. The US/UK are now in the crosshairs while Israel sits on the sidelines gloating.
Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said that in his view the United States has come to find itself with very little elbow room in the regional waters to advance its attempted objective of setting up a coalition to protect its interests. "We should force them out as soon as possible. God willing, this will happen and it is shaping up in various aspects already," said Khanzadi.
The interview was made before the US military conducted a vicious operation in Baghdad during the early hours of Friday, assassinating Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
Khanzadi had said the United States had gone to considerable lengths to peel Russia and China away from the joint war games in the Sea of Oman and in the India Ocean in late December.
He said the presence of the US Navy and its allies, including the British, in the Persian Gulf is not a matter of concern to Iran.
"Each aircraft carrier dispatched to the region is deployed within 300 miles from the Iranian borders. Such massive equipment floats idly and this piles huge pressure on the Americans and the British," said Khanzadi. "Others do not wish to pay the cost for such a deceitful game. This is why no country is joining their coalition."
"If the Iranians take retaliatory actions of some kind, let's say in the Persian Gulf or the Strait of Hormuz, basically blocking through mining or sinking ships...it will bring virtually overnight economic depression because 40 percent of the oil comes through there for other countries."While the US could feel less impact in this case as it produces its own crude, China could be one of those countries "dramatically" hit by such a scenario, Maloof believes. However, Iran may also target oil refineries in Gulf countries, which house US personnel, to hit the Americans indirectly, the former Pentagon official added.
Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share Index (TASI) as well as other key Middle East stock exchanges were down on Sunday after the killing of Iran's top general triggered a new round of tensions between the US and Iran.
The TASI slumped around 2 percent and was below 8,230 points on Sunday morning. Shares of energy giant Saudi Aramco fell to the lowest level since its record IPO last month, trading at 34.55 riyals per share.
Other key equity markets in the region also fell sharply. The major stocks of the Dubai Financial Market were down more than three percent after losing nearly 85 points, while the Qatar Exchange Index slid nearly 2.1 percent and shares included in Kuwait's premier index fell more than four percent. The overall index of the 30 most highly capitalized and liquid stocks traded on the Egyptian Exchange also slumped, falling nearly 2.5 percent.
The drop comes as Washington and Tehran continued to exchange threats on Sunday.
Earlier, the US stock market was shaken by the consequences of the attack, finishing the first trading days of 2020 with the biggest losses in a month. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 233.92 points or 0.8 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fell more than 0.7 percent and nearly 0.8 percent respectively.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab went on the BBC to fully endorse Washington's justification of the targeted assassination of the commander of Iran's Quds Force as an act of self-defense. The Trump administration claimed the man was planning attacks on American citizens and that preemptively killing him on Iraqi soil was OK.
"It was General Soleimani's job description to engage proxies, militias across not just Iraq but the whole region not just to destabilize those countries but to attack Western countries who were legitimately there," the top British diplomat told Andrew Marr. "In those circumstances the right of self-defense clearly applies."
Pelosi cited the formal notification under the War Powers Act sent on Saturday by the Trump administration to Congress. According to US legislation, the notification has to be signed and sent to Congress within 48 hours of introducing American forces into armed conflict or into a situation that could lead to war.Pompeo is on a winning streak for total idiocy: "We think there is a real likelihood Iran will make a mistake and make a decision to go after some of our forces, military forces in Iraq or soldiers in northeast Syria," he told Fox News on Sunday. Someone tell the disgusting cretin that he punched first.
US lawmakers are reportedly baffled that the notification they received was classified, detailing the intelligence that led to the strike on Suleimani, The New York Times reported, citing sources.
"The highly unusual decision to classify this document in its entirety compounds our many concerns, and suggests that the Congress and the American people are being left in the dark about our national security", Pelosi noted in a statement.
Democrats earlier slammed the assassination of Soleimani as illegal and unauthorized, warning that the move would reverberate throughout the increasingly volatile region.
Israel is estimated to hold about 90 nuclear warheads in its arsenal and a wide range of delivery systems. It is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which only recognizes five nuclear powers - the US, Russia, China, Britain and France. In that regard, Israel is in the company of India, Pakistan and North Korea.
The gaffe coming from the seasoned politician was seized by his critics online, who mocked Netanyahu. The prime minister is currently fighting for political survival, facing corruption charges and the third snap general election since April 2019.
Comment: A new phase and new threats, says Nasrallah: Trumps new bloat and gloat See also: Trump: US will strike 52 Iranian sites 'very fast and very hard' if Tehran moves to avenge general's death - UPDATE: Zarif responds