US talk sparks worries of war
IRAN-US TENSIONS US military rebuts doubts expressed by UK general about threat posed by Tehran
The United States and its European allies are increasingly at odds on the threat posed by Iran.
In the starkest manifestation yet of their differences, a top British general has said there “was no change in the posture” of Iranian proxies in the region, directly contradicting American claims of “escalatory indications”.
US military shot back within hours, saying comments by Maj Gen Chris Ghika, deputy commander of the alliance’s Operation Inherent Resolve, “run counter to the identified credible threats available to intelligence from US and allies regarding Iranian backed forces in the region.”
The US has bolstered its military presence in West Asia citing a “number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings” Iran was planning to launch attacks on American interests and allies, either directly or through proxies. The Trump administration has sent a carrier strike group, B-52 bombers, a Patriot anti-missile system and an amphibious warship for transporting troops. It also reviewed plans to deploy 120,000 troops, which President Donald Trump has denied, only to add that he would send a “hell of a lot more” if needed. On Wednesday, the US state department ordered all nonemergency staff from its Baghdad embassy and the Erbil consulate to leave the country and issued a renewed travel advisory for its citizens to not travel to Iraq.
The US and its European allies have been drifting apart on Iran since Trump announced he was leaving the 2015 nuclear deal signed by the US, Iran, Russia, China and three EU states, France, Britain and Germany. They tried to stop him, but failed.
The Trump administration has since reimposed sanctions on Iran and designated its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps a foreign terrorist organisation, pursuing “maximum pressure” plan to force Iran to give up its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles programmes.
But the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in Sochi, Russia, “We fundamentally do not seek a war.” A day after meeting Pompeo, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was sorry to see Iran’s nuclear deal falling apart but stressed Russia was not “a fire brigade” to “rescue everything.”
US statements on new intelligence about an impending attack by Iran have been greeted with scepticism by critics at home — who argue John Bolton, the hyper-hawkish national security adviser is pushing a war-averse Trump into a war with Iran — and allies. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday that the US must avoid war, warning that the White House has “no business” moving toward confrontation in the Middle East without approval from Congress.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Europe needs to “reposition” itself in a changing world and is welcoming European powers’ unity over Iran, a contrast with their deep divisions over the Iraq war 16 years ago.
Merkel said in an interview with Germany’s daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung released on Wednesday that Europe needs “forwardlooking” arguments and stressed that “simply pointing to seven decades of peace is no longer enough to justify Europe.”
In Dubai, Anwar Gargash, the UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs, said his country is “very committed to de-escalation” after the alleged sabotage of oil tankers.
Declining to name a suspect in the alleged sabotage, Gargash says “Iranian behaviour” is at the centre of regional problems.