Israel is behind providing the United States with exaggerated intelligence about Iran´s activities in its territorial waters in the Arabian Gulf, and training and military exercises for regular and irregular Iranian forces in the territories, according to press sources on Friday, May 17, 2019. In order to provide pretexts for the administration of US President Donald Trump to double the pressure on Tehran and raise the pace of tension, to ignite a military confrontation that could lead to a comprehensive American-Iranian war.
"The pictures showed the loading of short-range missiles on small speedboats in Iranian waters, used by National Security Advisor John Bolton and prompted the president to send the USS Abraham Lincoln´s Gulf-bound carrier group," which apparently used it, the sources said . US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to convince US allies of Iran´s aggressive intentions "provided by the Israel," according to reports.
The New York Times revealed that Israel had already provided intelligence about possible Iranian attacks in the Gulf and in Iraq, and that its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been promoting Iran´s strategic ambitions (and is considered by Hausa to pursue his government) has proposed the idea of ​​war with Iran But former Israeli military and intelligence analysts and officials say the Israeli government is not seeking to provoke a full-scale war between the United States and Iran, as Israeli officials fear such a war could plunge Israel into a mutually destructive confrontation with Iran´s ally. Lebanon, Hezbollah. "
It is noteworthy that Prime Minister Netanyahu was one of the greatest advocates of war against Iraq, and appeared before Congress before the war in 2003 to the need for war on Iraq, and persuaded many of his supporters in Congress to support the war.
Raoul Gerecht, who was one of the biggest advocates of war in Iraq in 2003 and now works for the FDD, a facade of the Israeli lobby in Washington, says he believes the United States can wage war on Iran "Iran is a threat to the security of the United States and its allies in oil kingdoms and Israel, which requires quick action to end the regime of the mullahs of the Islamic Republic," a tone promoted by Israel´s supporters in Washington to push for war against Iran.
But other analysts say continued pressure on Iran is instead aimed at forcing Iran to agree to a tougher nuclear deal than the one now in place, or to create conditions sufficiently critical for disgruntled Iranians to topple their government.
"No one is thinking about regime change militarily, but weakening the Iranian regime and economy, and making the Iranian people change the regime," said Amos Yadlin, a retired head of Israeli military intelligence and director of the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. This is the ultimate goal, and the other positive result is a better deal. "
"Israel is quietly playing a key role in the recent escalating tensions in the Middle East. Israeli intelligence has warned the United States in meetings in Washington and Tel Aviv over the past few weeks that Iran or its agents were planning to strike US targets in Iraq, Israel also warned of Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the two American allies who are considered Iran´s worst enemies. "
Donald Trump´s administration responded to perceived threats, moved an aircraft carrier, a group of American bombers and a Patriot missile battery into the Persian Gulf, and updated Pentagon plans for the war on Iran. These developments appear to be part of Netanyahu´s agenda, which almost drove Israel into a war with Iran in 2010 when he thought of launching air strikes on Iran´s nuclear facilities. He has been working on tougher pressure on Tehran long before the signing of the Iranian nuclear deal, which he condemned as too lenient in 2015. He worked hand in hand with the Trump administration to formulate its strategy to apply strict economic sanctions to force Iran to return to the table Negotiations.
The New York Times reported in another report on Friday that "Trump tells the secretary of defense that he does not want a war with Iran." US President Trump has sought to rein in the standoff with Iran in recent days, Shanahan, said he did not want to go to war with Iran, while his top diplomats began looking for ways to defuse tensions, administration officials said.
Trump´s statement, delivered at a meeting on Wednesday morning, sent a message to his hardline aides that he did not want the intense US campaign of pressure on the Iranians to expand into a public conflict. At present, the Trump administration, which was preparing for the conflict, seems more determined to find a diplomatic way out.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Oman´s Sultan Qaboos bin Said on Wednesday to talk about the threat posed by Iran, according to a statement received by al-Quds.
Oman has long been a mediator between the West and Iran, and the headquarters of a secret communications channel in 2013, when the Obama administration was negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran. Pompeo also asked European officials to help persuade Iran to "reduce" tensions, which escalated after US intelligence indicated that Iran had placed missiles on small boats in the Persian Gulf. Intelligence, based on unpublished photos (but described to the press), raised fears that Tehran would strike US forces, their property or those of their allies.
Trump was asked on Thursday whether the United States would go to war with Iran. "I hope it will not happen," he said.
Internal tensions raise fears that the Trump administration is preparing to fight, even if the country´s top commander does not want to. These divisions are the result of heated internal debate among administration officials over the seriousness of the Iranian threat. While British officials and allies say the intelligence on the threat is correct, lawmakers and some members of the administration accuse Trump´s associates of exaggerating the threat and exploiting intelligence to justify military engagement with Tehran.
