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In response to recent Iranian statements seeking to start the war, and amid growing tension between Iran and the United States, an Israeli official denied the allegations made yesterday by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Today, Sunday, an Israeli official described Zarif’s statement that Israel is trying to trick the United States into launching a war against Iran as “nonsense.”
As Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz told Kan public radio, it is Israel that must be on the alert, in anticipation of a possible Iranian attack on the first anniversary of the assassination of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in an attack with American drones in the vicinity of the Baghdad airport, like this one. Today (January 3) of last year.
Ignite the war
Yesterday, Zarif accused Israel of trying to start a war, planning attacks against US forces in Iraq. He added in a tweet on his Twitter account that the supposed Israeli plan will put the president of the United States, Donald Trump, in front of a false impasse to ignite the war.
In addition, he claimed that there is “new intelligence from Iraq indicating that Israeli agents of instigators are planning attacks against Americans, to link the outgoing president with a pretext to wage war.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (Archive – Reuters)
The Iranian minister’s tweet came two days after he accused the US president of seeking an excuse for the war in Iraq.
Tension mount
Also yesterday, the Revolutionary Guards commander, Major General Hossein Salami, promised to respond to “any move” against Iran, in light of growing tension with the United States. On the eve of the first anniversary of the assassination of the Quds Force commander in the Revolutionary Guards, he said: “We will respond with an equal, decisive and powerful blow at any step the enemy can take against us.”
Trump had previously warned Iran that he would hold it responsible should any of its citizens die in Iraq, after a missile was struck near the US embassy in Baghdad last month, and Washington blamed nearby Iraqi factions. Tehran to be behind him.
An American Guided Missile Destroyer (Archives)
Military movements
It is noteworthy that recently, US military movements have been observed in the region, including the steering of the aircraft carrier “USS Nimitz” and associated naval parts in the waters of the Gulf in recent weeks, and the flight of strategic bombers “B-52” over the Gulf twice recently.
But US press reports said this week that Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller ordered “Nimitz” back to his country. “The New York Times” quoted US officials as saying the move was a sign of “de-escalation” with respect to Tehran, following fears of a confrontation between the two sides before Trump leaves the White House on January 20.
US Forces of Expression (IStock)
Notably, decades-long relations between Iran and the United States witnessed additional strains during the Trump era, which adopted a policy of “maximum pressure” toward Tehran.
In 2018, the Republican president unilaterally withdrew from the deal between Tehran and the major powers on the Iranian nuclear program and reimposed tough economic sanctions on Tehran.
The two countries have been on the brink of a direct military confrontation twice since June 2019, especially after Soleimani’s assassination by a US drone strike near the Baghdad airport.
