As noted by Pepe Escobar in Iran squeezed between imperial psychos and European cowards:The Iranian armed forces are monitoring the activities of the US Navy in the Persian Gulf, Ali Fadavi, deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said on Wednesday.© AFP 2019 / IRNA
"The [US] military vessels, which are in the Persian Gulf, are under full control of the IRGC Navy and Army. There are no reasons for concern", Fadavi said, as quoted by the Fars news agency.
The United States has in recent weeks bolstered its forces in the Middle East, in what US National Security Adviser John Bolton has called a clear and unmistakable message to Iran.
New US deployments in the region include an aircraft carrier strike group, Patriot missiles, B-52 bombers and F-15 fighters, according to the Pentagon.
Professor Mohammad Marandi at the Faculty of World Studies of the University of Tehran offers quite a sobering perspective: "After 60 days Iran will push things even further. I don't think the Iranians are bluffing. They will also be pushing back at the Saudis and the Emiratis by different means."See also:
Marandi, ominously, sees "further escalation" ahead:"Iranians have been preparing for war with the Unites States ever since the Iraq invasion in 2003. After what they've seen in Libya, in Syria, Yemen, Venezuela, they know that the Americans and Europeans are utterly brutal. The whole shore of the Persian Gulf on the Iranian side and the Gulf of Oman is full of tunnels and underground high-tech missiles. The Persian Gulf is full of ships equipped with highly developed sea-to-sea missiles. If there is real war, all the oil and gas facilities in the region will be destroyed, all the tankers will be destroyed."
"I say with conviction to every MP or every party: I have compromised, now I ask you to compromise," the prime minister said in the speech, warning of a "nightmare future of permanently polarized politics" in the event no deal is reached.And Corbyn urges for May to call for a general election to 'break Brexit deadlock':
"Both Labor and Conservatives are really in a bit of turmoil, and I'm not convinced that [May's] really quite ambiguous remarks today will persuade many people," British politician and political commentator Jonathan Fryer told RT.
"What we've seen today is basically her pulling a rabbit out of a hat, in other words dangling the prospect of a referendum" before MPs, Fryer added.
Conservative MPs also reacted with disappointment.
"I'm frustrated," said Conservative MP Andrew Percy. "I really am concerned about the proposed possibility of a second referendum. People were told in the referendum, it was the final say on the matter for a generation - it would be implemented."
The deputy head of the Irish Democratic Unionist Party, which has been supportive of May, wasn't impressed with the speech either.
"All the attention in Westminster is focused on what comes after the prime minister, that's one of the problems she has now in terms of delivering this kind of hodgepodge set of proposals," DUP's Nigel Dodds told Irish media.
May's offer comes just days before the EU's parliamentary election, where the UK's participation has generated some controversy given the country's ongoing attempt to exit the union.
After months of wrangling over the exit deal, the PM has vowed to resign after the British Parliament votes on key Brexit legislation in June.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has rejected PM Theresa May's new Brexit proposals, telling her the only way to solve the Brexit impasse was by giving people a say through a general election.See also:
Responding to May's statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday, which detailed her new 10-point compromise Brexit pledges, Corbyn told May that her time in office had run out. The revised Withdrawal Agreement Bill will be published on Friday.
It's time for a general election to break the Brexit deadlock and give the country a say.
The Labour leader also made the strong case for a people's vote or second referendum on May's proposals, saying that if her government "truly believes" it's the best deal for the country, then "they should not fear putting it to the people."
Former Conservative cabinet minister Nicky Morgan called on May to consider pulling the vote on the Brexit Bill, scheduled for the first week of June, as there are "serious consequences" of it not passing.
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