© Global Look Press / ZUMAPRESS.com / Dominika Zarzycka
Washington's decision to increase its military presence in the Middle East has been triggered by the fact that US intelligence has acquired data indicating that Iran is planning attacks on US forces and allies in the region,
The Wall Street Journal confirmed on Tuesday, citing unnamed US officials.
According to
The Wall Street Journal, US intelligence has found out that Iran has plans to target US forces in Iraq and possibly in Syria, while it is also going to stage attacks in Bab-el-Mandeb strait near Yemen through its proxies and in the Persian Gulf with its own armed drones. Iran reportedly may seek to attack US forces in Kuwait as well.
The Iranian threat may be coming both from land and water, US officials told
The Wall Street Journal, adding that they are surprised with the specificity of the Iranian plans to target US forces.
However, it remains unclear if these plans are unavoidable, or Iranian moves depend on the further development of the US-Iranian relations.
Between 5,000 and 7,000 US forces are operating in Iraq, while over 1,000 are operating in Syria and even more in Kuwait, sources added.
They said that the administration of US President Donald Trump could position Patriot missile systems to the Middle East later.
Sources suggested that
it could be the CENTCOM, which Iran qualified as a terrorist group, who had asked Washington to increase its presence in the region where CENTCOM operated.US National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Sunday that the United States was deploying the USS
Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force near Iran, to the US Central Command (CENTCOM) region, as "a clear and unmistakable message" to Tehran that Washington would respond to possible attacks. Media reports emerged on Monday that
it was Israel who had briefed the United States about alleged Iranian plan to attack US targets or allies in the Gulf region.
Washington's decision to boost its military presence in the Middle East comes amid growing tensions between Iran and the United States, which were
sparked by the US decision to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal, to reimpose Iran sanctions and to make all countries cut their Iranian oil imports to zero.In addition, the United States officially designated in April Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, as a terrorist group. In response, Tehran promptly placed the CENTCOM under the same designation.
Comment: RT provides more
detail on this vague 'tip-off' (in reality, a bald-faced lie):
A US aircraft carrier group and bomber task force were deployed to the Middle East after a tip-off on a "credible threat" from Iran, which came, conveniently vague and timely, from Israeli spy agency Mossad, it has been reported.
At an April 15 meeting in Washington, Israeli National Security Council chief Meir Ben-Shabbat passed along a warning to US National Security Advisor John Bolton, senior Israeli officials told Axios. The information Bolton received was left vague: the attack could hit a US target in the Persian Gulf, or maybe Saudi Arabia, or maybe the UAE.
"It is still unclear to us what the Iranians are trying to do and how they are planning to do it," one of the senior officials said, but added it was "clear" that an unspecified event would take place sometime in the future, which would have unstated consequences.
The Axios report was corroborated by a separate report from Israel's channel 13 journalist Barak Ravid, who claimed that Israel had handed over information to the US about an alleged Iranian plot to target US interests in the Gulf.
However elusive the bait, Washington eagerly dashed to bite, deploying the USS 'Abraham Lincoln' carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East, in a maneuver that just happens to play right into Israel's hands. [...]
Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan did not specify from where he received the valuable intelligence, tweeting only that the deployment of the strike group "represents a prudent repositioning of assets in response to indications of a credible threat by Iranian regime forces."
The Mossad doesn't have the most trustworthy record when it comes to intelligence on Iran. It was likely the Mossad who, in 2004, passed fabricated documents to Iranian opposition group the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) which falsely portrayed Iran's civilian nuclear energy program.
Sputnik
reports that the US is mobilising its military based on suspicions, presumably stoked, or concocted, by Israel:
The United States suspects Iran of moving its short-range ballistic missiles by sea to the Persian Gulf, local media have reported, citing unnamed US officials with knowledge of the situation.
It is not clear if Iran is going to launch the ballistic missiles from boats or it is going to take the missiles to land and carry out launches from there, CNN specified late on Tuesday.
The sources told CNN that the Pentagon was mulling the possibility to send additional weapons to the Persian Gulf, including anti-missile defence systems, such as the Patriot.
The Pentagon believes that Iran may endanger the United States and its allies in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar, the sources added.
Washington's actions came amid growing tensions between the two countries that started when the United States reimposed sanctions on Iran and put extreme pressure on the trade of Iranian oil in a bid to strike a blow against the country's economy.
More from
Sputnik on US nuclear capable B-52 bombers being sent to the region:
[...] the Trump administration sees "clear indications" of threats from Iran to US forces in the region.
'Clear indications' which are surprisingly absent of any facts or details.
The US military said Tuesday that B-52 bombers will join additional forces being sent to the US Central Command region, according to Reuters. [...]
Four B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers are expected to be deployed to the Middle East in response to what US Acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan dubbed "indications of a credible threat by Iranian regime forces." [...]
Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC)'s spokesman Keivan Khosravi, following the deployment announcement, argued that the US move was a mere attempt at "psychological warfare."
The international community made it clear that it would not endorse US sanctions on Iran, and so, in collaboration with Israel, the US is fabricating non-reality-based fear of Iran to justify waging its economic warfare and, apparently, as part of some lame attempt to intimidate Iran. It's also notable that at this time Israel has chosen to launch a
round of slaughter in Gaza.
See also:
Also check out SOTT radio's:
NewsReal: Israeli-French Deception Downs Russian Spy Plane Off Syria, US Escalates 'Regime Change' Against Iran
Comment: RT provides more detail on this vague 'tip-off' (in reality, a bald-faced lie): Sputnik reports that the US is mobilising its military based on suspicions, presumably stoked, or concocted, by Israel: More from Sputnik on US nuclear capable B-52 bombers being sent to the region: The international community made it clear that it would not endorse US sanctions on Iran, and so, in collaboration with Israel, the US is fabricating non-reality-based fear of Iran to justify waging its economic warfare and, apparently, as part of some lame attempt to intimidate Iran. It's also notable that at this time Israel has chosen to launch a round of slaughter in Gaza.
See also:
- At Trump summit Netanyahu declares "common interest of war with Iran" sparking backlash from Tehran
- China slams Washington's decision on Iranian oil sanctions
- Russia, China, India and Iran: The magic quadrant that is changing the world
- Iran's oil revenues increased by almost 50% despite sanctions
Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: Israeli-French Deception Downs Russian Spy Plane Off Syria, US Escalates 'Regime Change' Against Iran