Iranian official calls for negotiations with Washington in Iraq

[Butifldrm]

King Salman convenes summit of Gulf and Arab states

 

FILE: King Salman has convened summits of Gulf and Arab states in Makkah in conjunction with the Islamic Summit to discuss Houthi attacks. (SPA/File Photo)

Updated 8 sec ago

ARAB NEWS

May 18, 201923:33

0

Meeting will be held in conjunction with the Islamic Summit

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's King Salman has called for the convening of two summits of Gulf and Arab states to be held on May 30 in Makkah.

The meeting will be held in conjunction with the upcoming Islamic Summit.

According to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement, King Salman has sent an invitation to the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and leaders of other Arab countries to two summits to discuss the recent attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis in the UAE and on Saudi Arabia's oil pipelines and their repercussions on the region. 

“The attack on ships in the territorial waters of the United Arab Emirates and the terrorist-backed Iran-backed Houthi militias’ attack on two oil pumping stations in the Kingdom have serious implications for regional and international peace and security and for the supply and stability of world oil markets,” the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1498941

[Butifldrm]

Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat: ‘Our security and religion are a red line’

 

Saudi Secretary

Updated 9 sec ago

ARAB NEWS

May 19, 201903:15

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Al-Jubeir's statement comes following last week's attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Arabian Gul and installations within the Kingdom

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is doing its best to avoid war in the region but stands ready to respond with "all strength and determination" to defend itself from any threat, the Kingdom's top diplomat said on Sunday.

In a news conference, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir accused Iran of seeking to destabilize the region and urged the international community to take responsibility to stop the Islamic republic from doing so.

"Our security and religion are a red line," Al-Jubeir said. His statement comes following last week's attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Arabian Gulf and installations within the Kingdom.

 

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1499021/saudi-arabia

[yota691]

Trump official: We sit in front of the phone waiting for a call from Iran

Political | 08:14 - 18/05/2019

 

 

 

BAGHDAD 
(Reuters) - US commanders are waiting for a telephone call from Iran's authorities to ease the current tension, but Tehran has yet to show any willingness to communicate, a US administration official said. 
Tramb: Iran may not understand at all what is actually happening 
The official, described by the Wall Street Journal in a report published yesterday as "high-level", that President Trump is open to start Dialogue with the Iranian leaders, saying: "We sit in front of the phone," but there are no signs yet that Tehran is responding to the call of the White House to communicate. 
At the same time, the official expressed the administration's intention to continue to intensify the pressure, especially through economic tools, to Tehran to force it to stop its support for the armed factions in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and Syria.
Washington's allies in Europe, Democratic congressmen and some senior US officials have expressed serious doubts that Tehran may agree to negotiate with Trump at a time when its economy is suffering losses due to US sanctions. The White House has not softened its rhetoric toward the republic Islamic. 
The senior official said it was too early to assess whether the sanctions policy had succeeded in achieving its goals, because they had not yet been fully implemented, but diplomats with long experience in the Iranian file considered that Trump's current management approach would probably not be successful, For the poor assessment of the situation by the White House.
William Burns, the former deputy secretary of state under Barack Obama, who took part in negotiations on a nuclear deal in 2015, said coercive diplomacy, which includes coercion only with no diplomacy, could not be pursued. Between the declaration of the desire for dialogue and the real willingness to engage in real dialogue. 
CNN reported that Trump handed over to the Swiss authorities a telephone number to be contacted by the Iranian leadership in order to ease the tension following the United States taking a series of military steps in the Gulf on the pretext of "increasing danger" by Iran and its allies over the troops. In the Middle East

[Butifldrm]

US forces deploy large-scale tanks and artillery pads in Iraq

 Sunday, 19 May 2019

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Baghdad - Writings

Iraqi sources revealed that US forces in Iraq expanded their presence at the base of Al-Assad in Anbar province and bring more destroyed munitions.

According to videotaped footage leaked on Sunday, 19 May 2019, US forces tightened security around the base of the base deeper into the desert and built HESCO protection walls through earth mounds built into boxes around military operations headquarters to repel any Attempts to target al-Qaeda in light of the expected escalation with Iran.

Iraqi media quoted a security source in Anbar province as saying that US forces had already begun to expand roads within the base of the lion visited by President Donald Trump at the end of last year, as well as the establishment of new corridors and roads within the base.

It is noteworthy that the security source spoke of the monitoring of the Hawthers M777 guns and air munitions brought by US forces to al-Qaeda, as well as the establishment of artillery platforms and tanks on vast areas as if preparing for an unprecedented offer of fire.

 

https://kitabat.com/news/القوات-الأمريكية-تنشر-منصات-للدبابات/

 

[Butifldrm]

President Rohani: The Iranian Islamic Republic will not yield to the arrogance of the enemy

34 views

19/05/2019

Direction / Continue

Iranian President Hassan Rowhani stressed that the Islamic Republic of Iran is calling for logic and dialogue but will never bow to the arrogance of the enemy.

During his meeting on Saturday with a number of activists in the field of culture and art in the country, President Rohani said, "We are advocates of logic, dialogue and negotiation, but the claims of those who claim that we will go to the negotiating table are empty. We are not prepared for such negotiations even if all the world's forces agree.

"The Iranian people call for logic, dialogue and negotiation and have the ability to do so. The whole world has recognized in the nuclear agreement that Iran is as strong as it can negotiate with and reach agreement with the six major world powers," he said.

"In the negotiations on the nuclear agreement, we have been able to cancel in one day 7 UN Security Council resolutions passed by the United Nations and the Security Council itself, which is proud of Iran's history and diplomacy," Rohani said.

"Therefore, we are advocates of logic, negotiation and dialogue. We do not fear anyone, but we will never bow down to those who want to deal arrogantly with us," he said.

Rohani pointed out that today there is no country in the world that supports the words of America only 3 or 4 countries and the Zionist entity. He added that last year the subject was raised in the UN Security Council under Trump. In the meeting, 14 countries opposed Trump and supported Iran, which is unprecedented in the history of the organization United nations.

On the other hand, the Iranian president stressed the importance of the role of culture and art especially at this critical stage in the country. He said that the most important need for today's society is hope for the future because the sense of national pride, security and activity is the main basis of the country and can speed up the solution of problems.

Ba

http://aletejahtv.com/archives/293135

[Butifldrm]

Sunday, 19 May 2019 02:44 PM

 

The Speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly: The situation in the Gulf region is serious and we are preparing for a state of war

 

 

 

"The situation in the region is serious and not reassuring," said Speaker of the National Assembly Marzouq al-Ghanim, adding that cabinet ministers explained to MPs Thursday in a private meeting their readiness to face any state of war in the region. 
Al-Ghanim said in statements after the meeting that it was clear from the presentation presented by the government on the situation in the region "the accuracy, sensitivity and seriousness of the next phase and the need to prepare and take all actions in preparation for all the possibilities contained." 
He said the ministers had "explained the state's preparations to confront, God forbid, any state of war in the region."

Count

https://www.thebaghdadpost.com/ar/Story/167436/رئيس-مجلس-الأمة-الكويتي-الأوضاع-بمنطقة-الخليج-العربي-خطيرة-و-نستعد-لحالة-حرب

[Butifldrm]

Ex-NATO commander: US in 'dangerous place' with Iran

BY RACHEL FRAZIN - 05/19/19 07:01 AM EDT

 

 

 Getty Images

Former Supreme Allied Commander at NATO James Stavridis said in an interview that aired Sunday that the U.S. is in a "dangerous place" with Iran, as tensions escalate. 

"We’re in a kind of dangerous place right now, because of escalation on both sides. It starts with Iran, of course," he told radio host John Catsimatidis on AM 970 in New York, criticizing what he believes to be Iran's "bad behavior throughout the region."

"Their escalation has now been matched by the United States," Stavridis added. "Let’s be hopeful that the Iranians will see this show of force, the way intends it, and will back down."

He said he believes Tehran will back down because "Iran cannot afford to go to war with us."

The White House has put forth mixed messaging on Iran in recent days. President Trump has denied a report that his administration was working on a plan to deploy 120,000 troops to the Middle East, but said he would send more than that if it were necessary. He said several times that he does not want war with Iran. 

The Washington Post reported Thursday that Trump was frustrated with advisers such as national security adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, because of their their hardline stances with Iran and wanted to speak to the country's leaders himself. An Iranian military official this week said that the U.S. was "holding a gun" at Tehran while calling for talks. 

Stavridis served as NATO's supreme allied commander from 2009 to 2013

https://thehill.com/policy/international/middle-east-north-africa/444414-ex-nato-commander-us-in-dangerous-place-with

[6ly410]

For Iranians, economic crisis looms larger than US tensions

By Associated Press 36 minutes ago

http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/19052019

 

Pedestrians and drivers make their way through a street in downtown Tehran, Iran, May 18, 2019. Photo: Vahid Salemi / AP

TEHRAN, Iran – Across Iran’s capital, the talk always seems to come back to how things may get worse.

Battered by US sanctions and its depreciating rial currency, Iran’s 80 million people struggle to buy meat, medicine and other staples of daily life. Now they wonder aloud about America’s intentions as it rushes an aircraft carrier and other forces to the region over a still-unexplained threat it perceives from Iran.

The Associated Press spoke to a variety of people on Tehran’s streets recently, ranging from young and old, women wearing the all-encompassing black chador to those loosely covering their hair.

Most say they believe a war will not come to the region, though they remain willing to defend their country. They think Iran should try to talk to the US to help its anemic economy, even as they see President Donald Trump as an erratic and untrustworthy adversary.

“Trump is not predictable at all and one doesn’t know how to react to him and what is the right thing to do against him,” said Afra Hamedzadeh, a 20-year-old civil servant and university student. “Since he controls the global economy we are somehow left with few options.”

But opinions vary across Iran’s capital, Tehran, depending on whether you speak to someone coming out of Friday prayers, in the back of a shared taxi cab, or exiting the coffee shops popular with young people.

“If America could do anything, it would have done many things by now,” said the chador-wearing Zoherh Sadeghi, a 51-year-old housewife coming out of prayers. “It can’t do anything. It can’t do a damn thing.”

That’s an opinion shared by 35-year-old office worker Massumeh Izadpanah.

“When someone keeps trying to scare you it means that they think they are not yet ready for war. When someone really wants war it starts the war right away. Like when Iraq attacked us, all of a sudden bombs were dropped,” she said. “But right now America just says, ‘I’m coming,’ to scare Iran.”

A young nation, many across Iran were alive for its bloody 1980s war with Iraq, a conflict that began when dictator Saddam Hussein invaded and dragged on for eight years. That war, in which Saddam used chemical weapons and Iran launched human wave attacks, killed 1 million people.

Since Trump withdrew the US from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers last year, state television increasingly has focused attention on that war’s wounded.

In Tehran’s southern Javadieh neighborhood, veteran Mohammad Ali Moghaddam said he was ready to fight again.

“I would encourage my three sons and grandsons to go to defend Iran too,” said Moghaddam, a 58-year-old welder.

Arezou Mirzaei, a 37-year-old mother of two in central Tehran, is more worried.

“I think the government should do something to avoid war,” Mirzaei said. “If war was good, then Afghanistan and Iraq would not be the mess that we see on TV.”

Taxi driver Jafar Hadavand, 34, agrees.

“I think both sides will be losers if they fight each other,” Hadavand said. “I think there are wise people on both sides to advocate peace, not war.”

Still, many pointed to the economy, not the possible outbreak of war, as Iran’s major concern. Iran’s rial currency traded at 32,000 to $1 at the time of the 2015 nuclear deal. Now it is at 148,000, and many have seen their life’s savings wiped out.

Nationwide, the unemployment rate is 12 percent. For youth it’s even worse, with a quarter of all young people unemployed, according to Iran’s statistic center.

“The economic situation is very bad, very bad. Unemployment is very high, and those who had jobs have lost theirs,” said Sadeghi, the housewife. “Young people can’t find good jobs, or get married, or become independent.”

Sores Maleki, a 62-year-old retired accountant, said talks with the US to loosen sanctions would help jumpstart Iran’s economy.

“We should go and talk to America with courage and strength. We are able to do that, others have done it,” Maleki said. “We can make concessions and win concessions. We have no other choice.”

But such negotiations will be difficult, said Reza Forghani, a 51-year-old civil servant. He said Iran needed to get the US to “sign a very firm contract that they can’t escape and have to honor.” Otherwise, Iran should drop out of the nuclear deal.

“When someone refuses to keep promises and commitments, you can tolerate it a couple of times, but then certainly you can’t remain committed forever. You will react,” Forghani said. “So I don’t think we should remain committed to the deal until the end.”

Yet for Iran’s youth, many of whom celebrated the signing of the 2015 nuclear deal in the streets, the situation now feels more akin to a funeral. Many openly discuss their options to obtain a visa — any visa — to get abroad.

“Young people have a lot of stress and the future is unknown,” said Hamedzadeh, the 20-year-old civil servant. “The future is so unknown that you can’t plan. The only thing they can do is to somehow leave Iran and build a life abroad.”

[Butifldrm]

US Alerts Airliners To "Misidentification" Risk If They Fly Over Persian Gulf

by Tyler Durden

Sun, 05/19/2019 - 10:20

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The United States has issued a formal warning to commercial airliners operating over the broader Gulf region of the risk of being "misidentified" as heightened US-Iran tensions and American warships are positioned in the Persian Gulf. 

Embassies in the region reportedly relayed the message issued from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) highlighting the risk of travel in and over the region after a week that's witnessed an alleged "sabotage" attack against four vessels near the vital Strait of Hormuz and threats and counter-threats hurled between Tehran and Washington.

File photo via Picture Alliance

Lloyd's of London has also issued an alert over the increased risk to maritime shipping in the Persian Gulf area. 

 

The FAA's warning specifically said commercial airliners flying over the Persian Gulf could be targeted by "miscalculation or misidentification" even as the White House appeared to soften its tone late in the week. 

"Although Iran likely has no intention to target civil aircraft, the presence of multiple long-range, advanced anti-aircraft-capable weapons in a tense environment poses a possible risk of miscalculation or misidentification, especially during periods of heightened political tension and rhetoric," the warning said.

It also suggested the possibility than an aircraft's navigation, communications, and electronic systems could be jammed "with little to no warning." According to ABC News:

The order relayed Saturday by U.S. diplomats in Kuwait and the UAE came from an FAA Notice to Airmen published late Thursday in the U.S. It said that all commercial aircraft flying over the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman needed to be aware of Iran's fighter jets and weaponry.

Iran dismissed the US warning as part of the continuing "psychological war against Iran." Instead a spokesman did call attention to the region's biggest civilian aviation tragedy in history, orchestrated not by Iran, but by the US Navy.

"There has never been a threat or risk to civilian air traffic in the Persian Gulf from Iran," Iranian Mission to the UN mission spokesman Alireza Miryousefi told the AP. "One cannot forget the fact that it was indeed a U.S. warship that wantonly targeted an Iranian civilian passenger aircraft... The U.S. has yet to apologize for that act of terrorism against Iranian civilians."

In 1988 Iran Air 655 was shot down over Iranian airspace by a reportedly trigger-happy US Navy.

 

He was referencing Iran Air Flight 655, which while carrying close to 300 people from Tehran to Dubai, was shot down on July 3, 1988 by the the USS Vincennes in the Persian Gulf in what the American commander said was a case of mistaken identity. 

The Navy at the time said it mistook the commercial airliner for a Iranian F-14. All 290 people on board died, including over 60 children, in a tragedy which Iranians have never forgotten, but which much of the American public has likely never been informed about.

Thus the United States have the gall to warn against the threat Iran poses to civilian aviation safety is rich with appallingly blind and twisted irony, given the events of 1988.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-05-19/us-alerts-airliners-misidentification-miscalculation-risk-over-persian-gulf

[6ly410]

With the escalation reached its peak .. America reassures Iraq not to use its territory to attack Iran

 

2019/05/19 11:38:13

https://www.shafaaq.com/ar/أمـن/مع-وصول-التصعيد-ذروته-امريكا-ت-طمئن-العراق-بعدم-إستخدام-أراضيه-لمهاجمة-إيران/

The US has confirmed its commitment not to use Iraqi territory against any other country, a reference to the escalation of its conflict with Iran and fears in the region of war between the two countries.
And pointed to the continuation of the training and equipping Iraqi forces and advise them.
In a meeting with Iraqi police chief Major-General Raed Shaker Jawdat in Baghdad on Sunday, the charge d'affaires at the US embassy in Iraq emphasized the United States' commitment to Iraq as one of America's key strategic partners in the region and the importance of a strong, stable and sovereign Iraqi government.
Hood expressed appreciation for the United States for Iraqi forces and said his country was fully confident in the determination of the Iraqi security forces to keep people safe. He stressed the continuation of his country
In its partnership with the Iraqi security forces by providing advice, training and equipping it in its efforts to eliminate the organization "calling" as a threat to Iraq.
He noted that the United States will continue its work to improve joint action and communication between all components of the Iraqi security forces.
The Chargé d'Affaires also stressed the United States' commitment to the Strategic Framework Agreement, including the prohibition of using Iraqi territory to attack any other country, referring to the current war threats between Washington and Tehran and Iraqi fears that this war could be a battlefield between the two countries.
On Wednesday, Washington ordered its non-essential staff in Iraq to leave immediately and demanded that commercial transport be released as soon as possible.
But US officials were keen to say Wednesday that the decision on US personnel in Iraq does not mean there is imminent military action by the United States against Iran or one of its allies in the region.
However, Washington has continued to strengthen its military presence in the Gulf region to counter Iranian threats, she said, recently sent a carrier aircraft and strategic bombers B-52 and an additional warship and a Patriot missile battery to the region.

Edited May 19, 2019 by 6ly410

[6ly410]

Bisha said: Washington and Tehran must manage the tension between them

20:42 - 19/05/2019

https://www.almaalomah.com/2019/05/19/407185/

Information / follow up

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran and the United States should manage their own tensions, Iran's national security chief, Hishamullah Fallah Beshah, said on Sunday.

"The table of red lines that I have called for is not the meaning of negotiating with America, but rather managing the tension between the two countries," he said.

The Iranian official said that the management of tension is not the sense of negotiation, saying that "Fortunately, the current circumstances have witnessed a decline in tension, so the two countries to manage these new circumstances."

"There are many players," Peshah said. "Their aim is to fuel tension between Tehran and Washington and have played this role for several years."

He said the United States and Iran had conducted joint operations against extremist groups in the region in 2001 and 2003, noting that these extremist groups are seeking to ignite the war between the two countries.

He also stressed that the war is not Iran's strategy nor the strategy of the United States, but the strategy of third countries, stressing the importance of managing tension between Washington and Tehran so as not to interfere in a war.

He said he believed that Iran's strategy was announced by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, neither war nor negotiations.

As for the recent statements by the United States to negotiate, Peshah said that "those who came out of my words that I called for negotiations with America have more to learn about diplomacy because they did not understand what I meant. I meant managing the tension." End 25 n

[6ly410]

 

[6ly410]

 

[6ly410]

Iranian Commander: US "Afraid" to Fight Iran

 

 BasNews   20/05/2019 - 00:08  Published in Middle East

http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/middle-east/521967

 

ERBIL - The United States is "afraid” of going to war with Iran, said the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Major General Hossein Salami on Sunday, while US President Donald Trump has threatened to "officially" end Iran if Tehran wants a war with Washington.

"The difference between us and them is that they are afraid of war and don't have the will for it," Salami told IRNA.

The statement came while ties between the US and Iran have drastically deteriorated. US Department of State on Wednesday ordered the withdrawal of non-emergency employees from its embassy in Baghdad and consulate general in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region.

President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter that there will be an "official" end to Iran if the country wants to go to war with Washington.

"If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!" Trump said.

However, Trump's threatening was apparently a response to Sunday's rocket attack on the fortified Green Zone in the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad where the US embassy as well as other foreign diplomatic facilities are located.

"A Katyusha rocket fell in the middle of the Green Zone without causing any losses," the Iraqi Military said in a statement, pointing out that it would give further details later, as cited by Kurdistan 24.

[CSM (R) Thack]

2 minutes ago, 6ly410 said:

"The difference between us and them is that they are afraid of war and don't have the will for it," Salami told IRNA.

Please...always the sh-t talking, now that tensions have quelled, however, if it’s an a$$ whooping you’re seeking...keep it up!!!👍🇺🇸

[6ly410]

 

Trump threatens ‘official end of Iran’ if it seeks fight with US 

By Rudaw 49 minutes ago 

235Views

         http://www.rudaw.net/mobile/english/middleeast/iran/190520191

US President Donald Trump. File photo: AP

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – In a tweet posted Sunday evening, US President Donald Trump threatened the “official end of Iran” if Tehran threatens or seeks conflict with the US. 

“If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!” he tweeted.
 

If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019

The inflammatory tweet comes just hours after a Katyusha rocket struck the Baghdad Green Zone near the US Embassy. There were no casualties.

The incident comes days after the US ordered the withdrawal of non-emergency personnel from Iraq and warned its nationals about the risk of violence or kidnapping because of an “imminent” threat that is directly tied to Iran and Iranian-backed groups.

The State Department also increased its travel advisory to the most extreme level, telling people not to travel to Iraq because of the risk or “terrorism, kidnapping, and armed conflict,” on Wednesday.

Hundreds of US citizens live in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region and some 5,000 American troops are stationed at Iraqi bases at the invitation of Baghdad.

This is a developing story… 

[6ly410]

 

[6ly410]

Monday، 20 May 2019 12:46 AM

Iraqis will support US against Iran, if war erupted - political analysts

https://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/Story/40726/Iraqis-will-support-US-against-Iran-if-war-erupted-political-analysts

 

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about his administration's proposals on U.S. immigration policy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., May 16, 2019

Most of Iraqi citizens and political blocs will support US against Iran, in case a conflict erupted between the two countries, political analysts told The Baghdad Post on Sunday.

In response to US President Donald Trump’s tweet that was posted on his Twitter account Sunday: “If Iran wants to fight, that will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!,” a political analyst replied to him saying: "Most of Iraqi people  will support you to finish the terrorist Mullah Regime in Iran.”

 

The analyst explained that Iraqis are fed up with all the terrorist militias supported by Iran, who are turning their lives into hell.

“All Iraqis suffer from this criminal regime. We all stand with United States,” he added.

Iranian Militias in Iraq and Syria (IMIS) have caused Iraqis so much trouble, due to their terrorist acts, that have made their daily no better than ISIS era.

There are about 30 militias in Iraq with at least 125,000 active-duty fighters and varying loyalties. Many have worked in tandem with the Iraqi military in fighting ISIS terrorist group, and all report to the prime minister’s office, who all are controlled by Iran, receiving orders from the terrorist IRGC directly.

[Pitcher]

https://www.thebaghdadpost.com/en/Story/40706/U-S-sanctions-are-limiting-Iran-s-ability-to-fund-Hezbollah-report
 

U.S. sanctions are limiting Iran's ability to fund Hezbollah – report

The latest wave of US sanctions has significantly curbed Iran’s ability to fund Hezbollah, The Washington Post reported on Saturday. 

The Lebanese terrorist group has traditionally been the best funded Islamic Republic’s proxy, with its fighters and affiliates benefiting from salaries and social services paid for by Tehran.

However, speaking to several Hezbollah officials, the Washington-based newspaper revealed how the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration after the US pulled out from the 2015 nuclear deal a year ago had had a deep impact on the funding. 

According to the report, while maintaining expenses that are considered essential – such as salaries to full-time fighters and stipends to families of the militants who died in Syria, where Hezbollah militias have been instrumental in keeping Syrian President Bashar Assad in power – other programs have been slashed or canceled. These programs include extra benefits to militants and their families and the distribution of free medicines and groceries. Moreover, fighters have been pulled out from Syria or assigned to the reserves.

“There is no doubt these sanctions have had a negative impact,” a Hezbollah official told The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity. “But ultimately, sanctions are a component of war, and we are going to confront them in this context.”

The report highlighted that the Hezbollah sources would not reveal any figures of the funding received by Tehran before or after the sanctions, but that according to US Special Envoy Brian Hook, Iran used to send the Lebanese group up to $700 million a year, accounting for 70% of their revenue. It added that the Trump administration has stated that sanctions have decreased Iranian revenue by $10 billion since last November.

“The Iranians are used to sanctions. But this level of sanctions will generate a different response. The Iranians will not be quiet about it,” Kamal Wazne, a Beirut-based political analyst told The Washington Post. The newspaper described him as an analyst holding opinions “sympathetic to the Iranian and Hezbollah point of view.” 

“[The sanctions] are a form of war more detrimental than actual war… It’s the slow death of a country, the government and its people,” Wazne added, explaining that Iran will be forced to retaliate.

However, the Hezbollah officials who spoke to the American newspaper said that the current financial predicaments are not affecting the group’s ability to fight in the different battlefields, including against Israel.

“We are still getting arms from Iran. We are still ready to confront Israel. Our role in Iraq and Syria remains. There is no person in Hezbollah who left because they didn’t get their salary, and the social services have not stopped,” the official told The Washington Post, adding that “sanctions won’t last forever,” and they will be “victorious” in the war against Israel as they have been in Syria and Iraq.

[6ly410]

Trump warns Iran: If it wants to fight it is the end

2019/05/19 17:52:27

https://www.shafaaq.com/ar/عربي-ودولي/ترامب-يحذر-ايران-إن-أرادت-القتال-فذلك-نهايتها/

US President Donald Trump pledged that Iran's start of fighting with the United States would mark the end of the Islamic Republic, warning of the repercussions of the US threat.

"If Iran wants to fight, it will officially end," Trump said in a tweet published on Sunday evening on his official Twitter account.

Relations between the United States and Iran have been strained since Trump took power in January 2017. The White House has repeatedly accused the Islamic Republic of being the biggest supporter of terrorism and a destabilizing force in the Middle East.

 

[6ly410]

Trump warns Iran against threatening the United States again

World | 11:41 - 19/05/2019

https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=47463

 

Baghdad Mawazine News 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump has vowed that Iran's start of war with the United States would mark the end of the Islamic Republic, warning of the consequences of the US threat. 
"If Iran wants to fight, it will officially end, do not threaten the United States again," Trump said in a tweet published on Sunday at his official Twitter account. 
Relations between the United States and Iran have been strained since Trump took power in January 2017. The White House has repeatedly accused the Islamic Republic of being the biggest supporter of terrorism and a destabilizing force in the Middle East.
The US president announced on May 8, 2018, his country's withdrawal from the agreement on Iran's nuclear program and later imposed a series of harsh sanctions on the Islamic Republic, in addition to the classification of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards terrorist organization, the step by Tehran to include US forces in the Middle East on the Iranian terrorism list . 
In a dramatic escalation of tensions, the Pentagon directed a group of warships led by the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier with a number of B-52 tactical bombers to the Gulf region in early May because of "confirmed information" about threats By Iran toward US military and their allies in the Middle East.
Despite the continued escalation between the United States and Iran, several indications from the White House in recent days that Trump does not want to engage in direct military conflict with the Islamic Republic, amid news of a major dispute in the administration of the President on how to deal with this issue, Especially under the insistence of the National Security Adviser, John Bolton, to adopt a more aggressive approach with Tehran. 
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Edited May 20, 2019 by 6ly410

[Artitech]

Fox News reports a missile has landed less than a mile from the U S embassy in the green zone! Not hard to figure out who launched it either!! I would load those B-52’s  with a couple of A bombs and turn Iran into a sea of glass!! I don’t want our troops In another ground war with those sorry miserable bastards! Especially when we don’t have to!JMHO 

[1lucdog]

Somebody it pushing Iran and Saudi towards a war!
AND by Default the US as Well.
Who could that be? Iran's leaders themselves? 
The Deep state cabal has funded Iran and it's terrorist organizations even "Our" x President acting on behalf of the CABAL sent them plane loads of cash...Used for terror ... not the welfare of the citizens of Persia!
Go Deeper
Every action of the Cabal Now and through the ages has received it's directions from the dark throne of Lucifer. 
The Father of Lies
The author of hate
A murder from the beginning
The Church and Synagogues shootings and murders around the world..blood sacrifices to him...
But that is not enough ...War... now that excites the perverted minds of Hell and empowers the darkside.
Guard against it. If it occurs may it be swift and crush the operations of the Cabal and free those under it's influence.
It is the season of the boomerang ...

[6ly410]

Top House Republican backs Trump on Iran; Iraqi militias were told to prepare for proxy war

 Laurie Mylroie |

24 minutes ago

http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/2eff87f5-3d3a-4488-847b-acb21b9cc2a2

 

 

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Rep. Michael McCaul (Texas), the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, during an interview with Kurdistan 24. (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

 

Iraq USA Washington Iran Baghdad 

A+AA-

WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan 24) - Rep. Michael McCaul (Texas) is the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and on Thursday, he explained to Kurdistan 24 his support for President Donald Trump’s tough position on Iran.

Asked about relations between the White House and Congress on the issue, McCaul replied, “Very good.” He had been briefed on the issue, and the White House sees Iran, “particularly, as of late, as a specific threat.”

McCaul further explained that the information prompting the US military deployments to the Persian Gulf came from human intelligence, USA Today reported on Friday.

Specifically, Qasim Soleimani, head of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), told Iran’s militia proxies in Iraq, as well as Lebanese Hizbollah, to be prepared for a confrontation with the US, McCaul said.

Indeed, on Sunday, a rocket was fired into Baghdad’s Green Zone, home to Iraqi government offices, as well as foreign diplomatic missions, including the US embassy.

[1lucdog]

No Question that the Iranian backed militias will need to be dealt with before Iraq can become independent...and international...

Edited May 20, 2019 by 1lucdog