US ‘will use force to stop Iran nuclear bomb’
REGIME SAYS IT WILL PASS ENRICHED URANIUM LIMIT SOON
US President Donald Trump said he was prepared to take military action to stop Tehran having a nuclear bomb but left open whether he would sanction the use of force to protect Gulf oil supplies.
Fears of a confrontation between Iran and the United States have mounted since Washington blamed longtime foe Iran for Thursday’s attacks on two oil tankers near the strategic Strait of Hormuz shipping lane.
In an interview with Time magazine, Trump, striking a different tone from some Republican lawmakers who have urged a military approach to Iran, said last week’s tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman had had only a “very minor” impact so far.
Asked if he would consider military action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons or to ensure the free flow of oil through the Gulf, Trump said: “I would certainly go over nuclear weapons, and I would keep the other a question mark.”
Acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan has announced the deployment of about 1,000 more troops to the Middle East for what he said were defensive purposes.
Washington said it would deploy 1,000 more troops to the region and renewed accusations that Iran was behind a tanker attack. China and Russia warned yesterday about escalating Middle East tensions.
The United States’ moves came as Iran set a ten-day countdown for world powers to fulfil their commitments under a nuclear deal abandoned by Washington, saying it would otherwise surpass the uranium stockpile limit mandated by the accord.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have escalated ever since the US quit the deal, with Washington bolstering its military presence in the region and blacklisting Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation.
On Monday, Washington further upped the ante.
“I have authorised approximately 1,000 additional troops for defensive purposes to address air, naval, and groundbased threats in the Middle
East,” acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan said in a statement.
“The recent Iranian attacks validate the reliable, credible intelligence we have received on hostile behaviour by Iranian forces and their proxy groups that threaten United States personnel and interests across the region,” Shanahan said.
‘Unexploded mine’
The US has blamed Iran for last week’s attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, a charge Tehran denies as “baseless.” The Pentagon released new images on Monday that it said showed Iran was behind the attack on one of the ships. The US argument centres on an unexploded limpet mine on the Kokuka Courageous tanker that it says was removed by Iranians on a patrol boat.
“Iran is responsible for the attack based on video evidence and the resources and proficiency needed to quickly remove the unexploded limpet mine,” the Pentagon said in a statement accompanying the imagery.
The US released a grainy black and white video last week it said showed the Iranians removing the mine, but has not provided an explanation for why they allegedly did so while the US military was in the area.
Iran’s atomic energy organisation spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said on Monday that the country would soon pass the amount of enriched uranium allowed under the nuclear deal.
“The countdown to pass the 300 kilograms reserve of enriched uranium has started and in 10 days’ time... we will pass this limit,” Kamalvandi said. The move “will be reversed once other parties live up to their commitments”, he added.
The US now finds itself in the awkward position of demanding that Iran comply with a deal that Trump derides as the worst in history.