Donald Trump Says He Is 'Absolutely' Ready to Send Troops to Confront Iran

THE TELEGRAPH: Donald Trump yesterday suggested he is ready to send “a hell of a lot” of troops to confront Iran in the Middle East amid warnings that the two countries are stumbling towards a war.

The comments come amid mounting diplomatic and military tensions in the Persian Gulf after Iran-aligned Yemeni rebels attacked an oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia and an unidentified attacker attempted to sabotage tankers.

Mr Trump said reports that the Pentagon has already drawn up plans to deploy 120,000 soldiers to the region in preparation for conflict were “fake news.”

But he added: “Now, would I do that? Absolutely. But we have not planned for that,” he said.

“Hopefully we’re not going to have to plan for that. And if we did that, we’d send a hell of a lot more troops than that,” he said. » | Roland Oliphant, Senior Foreign Correspondent | Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Is Iran Conducting Secret Sabotage Attacks? | DW News

Saudi Arabia is claiming that an alleged "sabotage attack" took place against its tankers in the Gulf. The Kingdom's foreign ministry has called the reported incident a dangerous threat to navigation and international security. The United Arab Emirates also says that four commercial vessels were hit by "sabotage attacks" near the port city of Fujairah in the Strait of Hormuz, off its eastern coast. Two of Saudi's oil tankers were among the targets. The alleged incidents come amid rising tensions between Iran and the US. Iran has called for a probe to find out who's responsible. Meanwhile, EU Ministers are meeting in Brussels today to try to salvage the Iran nuclear deal. After the US enacted new sanctions against Iran last week, Tehran threatened to pull out of the deal unless its European partners make concessions.

‘Trump Administration Wants War with Iran’ – Colonel

Two Saudi oil tankers and a Norwegian vessel were damaged in an attack off of the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf this weekend. Details of the incident are unclear but the US and Saudi officials are describing this incident as sabotage. Iran’s government is calling for further clarification. Retired US Army Colonel Ann Wright sits down with RT America’s Manila Chan to discuss.

Breaking News: Iran Forces 'Seize US Cargo Ship'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: An Iranian force has reportedly seized a US cargo ship and directed it to Iran

Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television said an Iranian "force" seized a US cargo ship after opening fire on it in the Gulf on Tuesday and directed it to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.

A Pentagon spokesman said Iranian forces had boarded a Marshall Island-flagged vessel, the MV Maersk Tigris, in the Gulf. He said the boarding occurred after Iranian patrol boats fired shots across the vessel's bow and ordered it deeper into Iranian waters. » | David Lawler, Washington and Reuters | Tuesday, April 28, 2015

US Weighs Alliance with Iran to Counter ISIS, Boosts Presence in Gulf

FOX NEWS: The Obama administration reportedly is preparing to open direct talks with Iran on possibly cooperating to counter the Sunni militant force seizing large swaths of Iraq and threatening Baghdad, weighing an unlikely alliance in the face of a common foe.

Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday the administration was "open to discussions" with Tehran if they can help end the violence. He told Yahoo! News he would "not rule out anything that would be constructive."

The deliberations come as the U.S. moved more assets into the region. According to U.S. Navy officials, the USS Mesa Verde is moving into the Persian Gulf with about 500 Marines on board, to help in the event of an evacuation. » | FoxNews.com | Monday, June 16, 2014

Crackdown Cohorts: US Backs Gulf Regimes, Ignores Rights Abuses
Support for several Gulf states where a crackdown on Internet freedom has reached new highs, resulting in arrests and bans, is also causing deep concern. Given this disturbing string of incidents across the Gulf States, many wonder why Washington is ignoring the persistent human rights violations there.

Iranian MP Hossein Ebrahimi, Deputy Head of the Iranian Parliament's National Security Committee: "The Persian Gulf Will Be Turned into a Graveyard" for International Forces

We in the Middle East Have Replaced Humiliation with Dignity
THE GUARDIAN: From Libya to Turkey the will of the people has revived a sense of common destiny. This is now our region

The wave of revolutions in the Arab world was spontaneous. But it also had to happen. They were necessary in order to restore the natural flow of history. In our region – west Asia and the south Mediterranean – there were two abnormalities in the last century: first, colonialism in the 1930s, 40s and 50s that divided the region into colonial entities, and severed the natural links between peoples and communities. For example, Syria was a French colony and Iraq a British one, so the historical and economic links between Damascus and Baghdad were cut.

The second abnormality was the cold war, which added a further division: countries that had lived together for centuries became enemies, like Turkey and Syria. We were in Nato; Syria was pro-Soviet. Our border became not a border between two nation states, but the border between two blocs. Yemen was likewise divided.

Now it is time to naturalise the flow of history. I see all these revolutions as a delayed process that should have happened in the late 80s and 90s as in eastern Europe. It did not because some argued that Arab societies didn't deserve democracy, and needed authoritarian regimes to preserve the status quo and prevent Islamist radicalism. Some countries and leaders who were proud of their own democracy, insisted that democracy in the Middle East would threaten security in our region.

Now we are saying all together: no. An ordinary Turk, an ordinary Arab, an ordinary Tunisian can change history. We believe that democracy is good, and that our people deserve it. This is a natural flow of history. Everybody must respect this will of the people.

If we fail to understand that there is a need to reconnect societies, communities, tribes and ethnicities in our region, we will lose the momentum of history. Our future is our sense of common destiny. All of us in the region have a common destiny. » | Ahmet Davutoglu | Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Gulf Regimes: The Real Game - Saudi Arabia
THE JERUSALEM POST: Rival forces are attempting to make use of the sudden eruption of popular unrest for their own preexisting purposes.

From a strategic point of view, the Iran-led regional axis has until now emerged as a net earner from the “Arab Spring” of 2011. In Egypt and Tunisia, two stable, pro-Western Arab regimes have fallen, giving way to ambiguous and potentially chaotic situations in those countries.

Among the countries of the “resistance axis,” meanwhile, protests have been brutally suppressed or stillborn, at least for the moment.

Attention is now turning to the vital Persian Gulf area. Bahrain is in the midst of an uprising by the country’s majority Shi’ite population. But the main question is whether instability will spread to Saudi Arabia – the key US ally in the area, and in many ways the linchpin of US regional strategy.

Here, Tehran stands to play a more active role than that of lucky bystander. The Gulf area is the central focus of Iranian ambition. It wishes to fulfill a long-standing strategic ambition of emerging as the dominant power in this area. The breakdown of order in Saudi Arabia would offer it a major opportunity to advance this cause.

Iran lacks conventional military ability and real economic power. It is adept, however, at turning political chaos into gain. The regime has developed tools and practices for political warfare which have so far delivered it domination of Lebanon, a competing franchise in Palestinian nationalism and key influence in Iraq.

If the Gulf regimes fail to effectively navigate the current unrest, Iran is fair set to begin to apply these practices in this area. The potential implications are enormous. The rulers of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states are aware of the risk, and are energetically trying to keep these areas closed to Iranian political-military subversion.

Bahrain is the test case. Here, the Iranians are best placed to make gains. The population of this tiny kingdom is 70 percent Shi’ite. The ruling Sunni al-Khalifa family has failed to address the socioeconomic needs and demands of this section of the population. The kingdom is currently roiled by a Shi’ite uprising. A formerly London-based cleric with Iranian connections, Hassan Mushaima, recently returned to take part.

Bahrain is small but vital. It is the base of the US Fifth Fleet, which ensures the security of the Gulf states in the face of a conventional military threat. Still, the real game is in Saudi Arabia. >>> Jonathan Spyer | Friday, March 11, 2011

Revolutionary Minute
Mar 3 - A wave of anti-government protests has swept across the Middle East and North Africa, mounting pressure on long-standing leaders. Libya's Gaddafi is the latest leader under fire from within the nation and abroad. Addressing supporters he said ''Muammar Gaddafi is one of you. You must dance, sing and be happy.'' Multimedia production by Jill Kitchener. 'Battleground' music composed by Amar

Islamic Games Cancelled in Arab-Iran Row Over Persian Gulf Name
THE TELEGRAPH: The Islamic Solidarity Games, designed to strengthen ties among Muslim nations, have been cancelled after a dispute between Arab countries and Iran over the name of the waterway dividing them.

Arabs call the waterway the Arabian Gulf but Iranians insist it is the Persian Gulf. Photo: The Telegraph
The Saudi-based Islamic Solidarity Games Federation says they cancelled the sporting event, which were meant to be held in Tehran in the spring, after Iran put "Persian Gulf" on the logo.

Arabs call the waterway the Arabian Gulf and many were offended by references to its other common name. >>> | Sunday, January 17, 2010

Tension Rises in the Gulf: US Navy Fires at Iranian Boats
THE TELEGRAPH: The United States navy fired warning shots at two Iranian boats in the Gulf yesterday in the worst confrontation yet in the world's busiest oil shipping lanes.

A US forces security team on a chartered transport ship used loudhailers, radios and flares to warn off two small Iranian boats acting in an "unclear" manner.

But the boats ignored the warning and the Americans opened fire, unleashing several bursts of live ammunition. The incident took place in the early morning near the international boundary in an area designated by the US navy as the Central Arabian Gulf. 

The boats turned away but the US vessel, the Westward Venture, was asked to identify itself by the Iranian coastguard minutes later.

The incident heightened fears over the stability of a key energy artery, helping propel the price of Brent crude to a record high in late afternoon trading.

A spokesman for the US navy in Bahrain said the security team used.50-calibre machineguns and M-16 assault rifles to warn off the boats. Cdr Lydia Robertson said: "The small boats left the area a short time later. We were able to avoid a serious incident by following the procedures that we use." US Navy Fires at Iranian Boats as Tension Rises in the Gulf >>> By Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | April 26, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)