US Navy deploys two Aircraft Carriers to the Persian Gulf

The US Fifth Fleet announced last Friday that a nuclear carrier strike group led by USS Nimitz passed through the Strait of Hormuz with the guided-missile cruisers USS Princeton and USS Philippine Sea and guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett.

If President Donald Trump’s campaign for the US election fails to make headway, he might resort to some desperate gimmicks that give him mileage in the news cycle and help whip up jingoism among a gullible American public who would rally behind their commander-in-chief.

Therefore, Trump’s Plan B might well be to engineer a military flare-up in some form involving Iran in the few weeks remaining between now and the upcoming November 3, 2020 election.

Trita Parsi, a well-known expert on Iran who heads the Washington-based think-tank Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, sees Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as the mastermind behind this Plan B. And the intention seems to be somehow to provoke Iran to use force, which would provide an alibi for the US military to carry out “reprisal” attacks.

After a deployment gap of some 10 months, Parsi enjoys a strong reputation as a regional expert and his prognosis cannot be ignored. The deployment of the carrier strike group in the waters off Iran lends added credibility to his prediction.

After having failed to get the United Nations Security Council to back his move to invoke “snapback” sanctions against Iran, Pompeo is threatening to implement such “UN sanctions” unilaterally even without a UNSC mandate.

The proposed “enforcement” of “snap back” sanctions would entail US warships attacking and confiscating Iranian cargo ships in international waters – as well as non-Iranian vessels suspected of carrying Iranian goods.

Pompeo contends that these measures are not only lawful but also necessary and that the USA is now independently carrying out the ruling of the UN Security Council.

What is afoot is a sort of naval blockade of Iran, making a desperate US attempt to ratchet up tensions by provoking Iran is now self-evident.

With the normalization of Israel’s military relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman, Israel gets access to three vital staging posts overlooking the Iranian coast from where its jets can operate to attack its arch rival defending the {Palestinian} cause.

Indeed, the timing of Israel’s “peace agreements” with the UAE, Bahrain and Oman altogether takes a new ominous meaning under these circumstances. It has been a long-cherished Israeli dream to get the USA to attack Iran militarily.

As of now, both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are in the same boat as any discredited politicians anywhere who would stand to gain out of whipping up jingoism ahead of an upcoming election.

Trump faces an electoral battle that is on razor’s edge. And Netanyahu is on trial facing corruption charges; furthermore, his mismanagement of the Covid-19 pandemic is widely condemned by the Israeli public.

Israel announced last week a second nationwide lock down as the pandemic has spun out of control.

Conceivably, Trump would know this is a risky path to take, for the entire Plan B could boomerang if Iran inflicts serious casualties on US forces. Iran’s missile capability is very substantial. But Pompeo seems adamant.

Pompeo has an eye on the 2024 presidential election and is only too eager to pander to the Jewish lobby. Between Pompeo and Netanyahu, there is no daylight possible, too.

n what must be one of his sharpest rhetorical outbursts against the Trump administration, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused the United States on Saturday of “savagery” for inflicting $150 billion of damage on Iran due to wartime sanctions.

Within the next three weeks, the UN embargo on arms sales to Iran is due to expire. Zarif disclosed last week while on a visit to Moscow that Iran and Russia are discussing arms deals.

Iran’s deterrent capability against US military threat is only going to increase. Meanwhile, Iran is also negotiating long-term economic pacts with China and Russia in a calibrated strategy of Eurasian integration.

Asia Times / ABC Flash Point WW III News 2020.