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Pompeo and Bolton Pushing for War on Iran

Written by Subject: Iran

Pompeo and Bolton Pushing for War on Iran

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

On Thursday, Trump stepped back from the brink of preemptive war on Iran, a nonbelligerent nation threatening no one.

On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif commented on hostile US actions, tweeting:

"More evidence—including encroachment of a MQ9 spy drone on 5/26, speedboat purchases & phone calls planning to attribute ship attacks to Iran—indicate #B_Team was moments away from trapping @realDonaldTrump into a war. Prudence prevented it, but #EconomicTerrorism brings tension."

Zarif earlier identified members of what he called Trump's "infamous B-Team," promoting US aggression against Iran.

He told Trump via Twitter to "be careful," adding: "You campaigned against costly and stupid (foreign military) interventions."

"The conniving cabal of warmongers & butchers, the infamous #B_Team, are plotting for way more than what you bargained for."

He identified its members as John Bolton, Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, Abu Dhabi crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Israeli PM Netanyahu. 

He also said: "You (Pompeo) continue to do the same thing at State," responding to his remark when he was CIA director, saying: "We lied. We cheated. We stole."

Longstanding US plans call for returning Iran to US client state status. Heightened tensions show the threat of US war remains ominously real despite the reluctance of Trump, along with cool heads at the Pentagon and Congress to go this far.

In Israel meeting with Netanyahu, Bolton warned Iran not to mistake  the Trump regime's stepping back from the brink of war last week as "weakness."

He lied accusing its ruling authorities of granting themselves "a hunting license in the Middle East" — how the US, NATO, Israel, and their imperial partners operate, not the Islamic Republic.

He lied claiming Iran "continue(s) (to) pursu(e) nuclear weapons." He lied citing its nonexistent "threats," adding:

"(I)t's continuing buildup of menacing Quds Force capabilities in Syria and Iraq (sic); its supply of sophisticated drones, missiles and other advanced weapons to hostile surrogate forces in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Afghanistan (sic); and continued threat and acts of aggression against Israel, our allies in the Arabian Gulf and against US personal and assets across the Middle East (sic), are not signs of a nation seeking peace."

All of the above are bald-faced Big Lies — ignoring nuclear armed and dangerous Israel, the enormous threat it poses, and how US rage for dominance threatens world peace.

Iran is Israel's prime target for war and regime change, wanting the US to attack the country.

Netanyahu turned truth on its head, accusing Iran of "devouring one state after the other" — a US specialty throughout the post-WW II era, the Jewish state created on stolen Palestinian land, both nations allied in their wars of aggression.

Bolton warned that the Trump regime is "ready to go" militarily, adding in the meantime, sanctions war on Iran will escalate, additional illegal ones imposed coming.

Separately, Pompeo continued his near-daily anti-Iran disinformation rant, pushing for war he and Bolton may get Trump to go for ahead with potentially catastrophic consequences against a nation able to hit back hard against the US and its regional partners in high crimes.

Pompeo said Trump "did not pass a message through Oman calling for talks with Iran. We have made our position abundantly clear. We are willing to engage when the time is right."

Regime policy is "diplomatic isolation and (maximum) economic pressure." Pompeo stressed it'll "intensify."

Serial lying defines US policymakers, especially high-level ones. Pompeo lied claiming "the United States has shown beyond any doubt (sic) that Iran shot down a US unmanned aircraft in international airspace (sic)." False!

He lied saying the most belligerent country in world history on a global scale USA "stands for peace and stability in the Middle East" — while its wars of aggression rage in multiple theaters.

He lied claiming the Trump regime's policy toward Iran aims to prevent it "from obtaining nuclear weapons and delivery systems for those weapons…"

The falsified claims about Iran seeking these weapons and delivery systems for them were debunked long ago — including by the US intelligence community in its annual assessments of world threats.

So was the Big Lie calling Iran "the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism…threatening Americans and American interests worldwide."

That dubious distinction defines the US, NATO, Israel, and other regional rogue states — not the Islamic Republic throughout its history.

Bolton and Pompeo suggested it may be only a matter of time before a pretext is manufactured for war on Iran.

If coming, it'll likely follow a false flag severe enough to get Trump to go along, a staged incident causing US casualties, making inflammatory establishment media headlines pushing for war.

The risk of things turning out this way is ominously high.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

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