Iran: a quickly evolving geopolitical imbroglio – part IV

The USS Carl Vinson

Madison Ruppert, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

Last night James Corbett and I discussed on his show Corbett Report Radio the situation with Iran and the Persian Gulf, which is progressing at a blinding pace.

Since then, a considerable amount has happened and that was less than 24 hours ago. It is nearly impossible for one person to round up all of these events for you but I am doing the best I possibly can if I miss something please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected].

If this is the first part of the series you have come across, please take a few moments to go over parts one, two and three to get a better sense of what is going on here and the events leading up to what we are now witnessing. You also might want to read parts one and two of the “U.S. and NATO are on the march worldwide” series to get a better sense of the global scale of this geopolitical strategy.

Today, a significant step forward was taken (or backward, depending on your point of view) when a NATO Parliamentary Assembly member made some heated statements regarding Iran, Kuwait, and the region in general. The first jab at Iran in the piece published by Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) comes in the opening sentence in calling the Persian Gulf “the Arabian Gulf.”

The Deputy Chairman of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Defense and Security Committee Francesco Buzzi addressed the Iranian threats to close the critical Strait of Hormuz, which Corbett rightly characterized as a flashpoint, while telling Tehran “to observe international treaties and laws and to respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and borders of its Gulf neighbors, ‘mainly the friendly State of Kuwait.’”

The following choice of words should be noted: “The veteran NATO MP voiced total solidarity with the State of Kuwait versus the Iranian move.”

This shows they are already creating the alliances and regional infrastructure required to wage war with Iran.

Furthermore, it clearly shows which side Kuwait is on, while highlihgting the fact that these individuals believe Iranian aggression is not only inevitable but already occurring.

Buzzi also pushed for a more aggressive political and diplomatic approach on the part of the European Union, in which the Italian government would take a more active role.

This shows just how divorced from reality these NATO bureaucrats are. With Italy’s immense domestic woes weighing heavily upon the Italian people, Buzzi actually thinks the government should be focusing on the non-threat that is Iran.

Buzzi is also apparently an advocate of European economic sanctions against Iran, which will likely be discussed in the meeting of European Union Foreign Ministers at the end of the month.

This – of course – is Iran’s red line, which they said would force them to close the Strait of Hormuz.

As I said on Corbett Report Radio, I find this prospect quite unrealistic, due to the fact that the Iranian government is well aware of the fact that they would be leaving themselves open to a massive attack from the United States.

When they first threatened to close the Strait, the United States Fifth Fleet, based out of nearby Bahrain, countered with threats of their own.

I do not believe the Iranian leadership is foolish enough to believe that the United States military would not make good on their threats, especially when it comes to a resource like oil.

Another Italian, Pieradrea Vanni, president of the Kuwaiti-Italian Friendship Society, expressed a similar sentiment to that of Buzzi in calling “on the Italian government to support an EU initiative for a decisive action against Iran, which he said is seeking to destabilize the Gulf region.”

I would counter Vanni’s claim that it is Iran destabilizing the region by asking him why the United States is moving even more naval forces into the region, making a concerted and public push to arm neighboring states and holding the largest joint Israeli-American drill in history at a time like this.

Is it really Iran that is seeking to destabilize the region, which is so critical to their infrastructure; or perhaps could it be that it is the United States, NATO and the West in general that is destabilizing the region in order to firm up their grip on the Gulf and exploit the unmatched oil resources?

An event which just served to reinforce the assertion that the United States is in fact the nation destabilizing the Gulf was the announcement of additional warship movement in the region.

Of course the United States is not alone. Indeed, as I previously mentioned, the British are moving their most advanced warship into the region as well, far from what this tense situation needs.

Unsurprisingly, like in the previous instances of American naval vessels entering the region, United States officials deny this has anything to do with tensions over the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, “Her deployment in that area is routine, long-planned – there’s nothing unusual about that.”

According to RT, the USS Carl Vinson has yet to go through the Strait of Hormuz and has a capacity of up to 80 planes and helicopters and is accompanied by a cruiser and destroyer.

The Pentagon says that the ships are “not in the Gulf,” but instead in the Area of Responsibility of the United States Fifth Fleet.

Other than the Persian Gulf, this includes the Gulf of Oman, the Red Sea and some of the Indian Ocean.

The United States is now claiming that the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier is not expected to return to the Gulf after it recently passed through the Strait of Hormuz – a move which infuriated Iran.

However, the American Navy has indeed stated that the USS Carl Vinson will be joined by the USS Abraham Lincoln, yet another aircraft carrier which is currently in transit from the Indian Ocean.

The United States is also stepping up the sanctions war against Iran, with Japan agreeing to adopt harsh sanctions against importing Iranian oil today.

“We plan to start reducing this 10 per cent share [of Iranian oil imports that make up the Japanese energy market] as soon as possible in a planned manner,” Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azume said.

One interesting piece in this international jigsaw puzzle I discussed with Corbett last night is the duality of India’s approach to Iran.

As I have been outlining in my series, “U.S. and NATO are on the march worldwide,” India is becoming increasingly close with the United States in the Western bid to control the Asia-Pacific region.

While India is growing closer to the United States and NATO by the day, they still have a considerably tight relationship with Iran.

According to RT, Reuters reports via sources in the Indian cabinet that their government is not looking “to waver” from the American approach to Iran.

India currently pours a whopping $12 billion per year into Iranian oil and is the largest purchaser of Iran’s oil after China.

However, India has chosen to deal with Iranian oil outside of the United States dollar, a move which the US has oddly left unaddressed.

Oddly enough, it is not just India that is now dealing with Iran outside of the dollar, indeed Russia, China and surprisingly even Japan have decided to make the same move, according to Iranian Fars News Agency.

It’s quite interesting that Japan would get on board with the Western oil sanctions against Iran seeing as they have opted to deal with the supposedly dangerous nation outside of the dollar completely.

There is also the matter of the Fujairah pipeline, the construction of which has been accelerated and is now slated for testing in May.

This pipeline is set to be able to move 1.4 million barrels per day of oil, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz bottleneck.

Interestingly, RT points to a possible spark which could ignite the flames of World War III as being the killing of an American citizen convicted of espionage in Iran.

They link this to the infamous assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 which many argue sparked World War I.

They also posit that the Strait of Hormuz might be the spark; something which I think is more likely, especially given the upcoming massive Israeli-American drills which might coincide with Iranian military exercises in the region as well.

They rightly point out, “Right now it is a war of words,” and I do not think that Iran will take the first step unless they are forced to do so or backed into a corner and truly feel threatened.

I believe that it is not Israel that should be speaking of an “existential threat,” instead it should be Iran which is becoming increasingly encircled, isolated and threatened by a massive navy and powerful group of allied nations. 

This article first appeared at EndtheLie.com 

Madison Ruppert is the Editor and Owner-Operator of the alternative news and analysis database End The Lie and has no affiliation with any NGO, political party, economic school, or other organization/cause. He is available for podcast and radio interviews. If you have questions, comments, or corrections feel free to contact him at [email protected]