There are strong indicators that Donald Trump, on Israel’s behest, is anxious to take some military action against Iran before his term of office expires, reports Muslim Mirror –a view which is finding traction among observers south of the Tropic of Cancer and across the Atlantic.
The Newsweek says, “the administration is continuing its “maximum pressure” campaign (against Iran), seeking to collapse the nation’s economy before the end of Trump’s term. Unable to force Tehran to make a new nuclear deal, Trump appears set on making the regime pay as steep a price as possible before he leaves the White House.”
The president even asked for military strike options on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the Newsweek reports citing The New York Times. Trump was reportedly talked out of a military strike by advisers.
But Trump’s unpredictability, tweets, and denial of defeat at the polls, etc. “add up to gaps between perception of the normal and the unusual, a Gulf observer says.
There may be reasons why some other observers in the region thinks so also.
An Islamabad-based security analyst tells DesPardes “an American president creating a war-like crisis to prolong his rule or complicate transition of power was a scene of dramas and movies. But with Mr Trump in power, the unpredictability that is associated with him and his calculated risk-taking (remember General Solemani’s brazen assassination? ), he could instigate crisis to delay transition to Biden”.
“There is a reason why Russia is still skeptical and has refrained till now to congratulate Mr Biden,” he adds.
“Though appear remote to me, but possible due to what Israel has become accustomed to in recent time” Shameless US support for Israel,” says the Pakistani defense analyst.
The next few weeks are critical for the region, a few observers across the Atlantic say. “Unless some dramatic development inhibiting Trump from implementing his grandiose plan occurs, the region may find itself engulfed in the flames of a horrific war with far reaching consequences”, a Dubai-based Gulf analyst tells DesPardes.
Asked to comment on the substance of the CommandEleven tweet above, a Pakistani defense official based at one of the most important capitals in the Middle East tells DesPardes, “I agree”.
If something of this magnitude happens, the two countries who will be paying the highest price in the region and in the long term would be the UAE and Saudi Arabia,” says the Dubai based Gulf analyst. “I hope it doesn’t happen”.
In his view, “the gullible Saudis and Gulf states might think it’s a quick win and some are encouraging an Israeli attack on Iran,” but “the consequences for them will be horrific and disastrous”, he says.
The Iranians will not keep quiet and no amount of Israeli/American protection will save the Saudis and their economy, he adds. “Israel will have the last laugh. MBS should be wise,” says the Gulf analyst.
Another Gulf analyst says “anything is possible”.
“I have been hearing lots of similar rumors mostly coming from the region for the past two weeks”.
The shuffling of the national security and Defense staff has added to the suspicion “and the fact that Trump has decided to stay at the White House even during Thanksgiving (Thursday) adds fuel to the fire,” he says.
“Trump’s new Secretary of Defense is gung ho like him”, says an Asia-Pacific based defense and security analyst. “If he does mount an assault on Iran, Iran will strike back on Saudi and the UAE, and that should be very damaging,” he cautions.
In his opinion, “If Israel gets involved, most Muslim-majority states would likely launch a boycott.”
According to him, the overall impact and escalation could endanger post-pandemic recovery and cooperation. “Hundreds of thousands of Gulf Muslims could suffer death or mutilation. That would be Trump’s legacy. Not a pretty picture for Biden either”, he says.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday flew to Saudi Arabia and met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Israeli sources said Monday.
Mossad chief Yossi Cohen also attended the meeting, which took place in the city of Neom, according to the sources, reported Haaretz.
Saudi adviser confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that normalization and Iran were discussed at the secret meeting in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
The secret meeting between Natanyahu, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pompeo is a cardinal indicator that Trump may order a military attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to an observer –this view dovetails Pakistani defense official’s “I agree” response to what CommandEleven tweeted after the “secret meeting” in Neom.
A defense adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday that Trump was risking a war by flirting with military action.
Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan told the Associated Press (AP) Thursday: “We don’t welcome a crisis. We don’t welcome war. We are not after starting a war.”
Iranian leaders who have been dismissive of Trump since he lost the election, and are now considering what a Biden administration might hold for Tehran, will have to make it through the dying convulsions of the Trump term, which look set to throw more problems at Iran, according to the Newsweek.
MUSLIM MIRROR adds: Israel is keen for a military action against Iran’s nuclear facility so as to neutralize it before Biden assumes office.If this is not done during Donald Trump’s tenure, it is apprehended that Biden , on assuming office, would ,reinstate the US -Iran nuclear deal that had been there during Barrack Obama’s tenure. Thus the Iran nuclear Sword of Damocles would continue to hangover its head.
Donald Trump who now has his eyes set on the 2024 Presidential Elections, would like to oblige Israel by supporting such action, to elicit the full support of Jews for his next election.
Many analysts also predict such action, which if undertaken by US-Israel nexus and supported by KSA by allowing her air space and base facilities, would plunge the region into a war which may spin out of control with devastating consequences for all involved. Its effects would be far reaching and not confined merely to the region. This possibility must also be creating a lot of anxiety for Biden, whose Govt will then be faced with the aftermath of Donald Trump’s misadventure.
However Trump reportedly backed away from launching a strike when confronted with the scenarios such a hit would likely set in motion. But there are still concerns the lame-duck president may fire parting salvos at his Iranian adversary, leaving behind a conflict for his rival President-elect Joe Biden to untangle.
Hossein Dehghan, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader who is a possible 2021 presidential candidate has warned that any American attack on the Islamic Republic could set off a “full-fledged war” in the Middle East in the waning days of the Trump administration.
The next few weeks are critical .Unless some dramatic development, inhibiting Donald Trump from implementing his grandiose plan occurs, the region may find itself engulfed in the flames of a horrific war with far reaching consequences.
