These are the facts: first there was the Iranian plot to commit murder on American soil. It was a plot that was quickly debunked, but which still managed to stir up some controversy. Then there was the leak revealing that the British were preparing to lend military support to the U.S. in the event of an attack on Iran. The message: With the fight for Libya winding down, and with the sooner than expected exit from Afghanistan and the final pull-out from Iraq, Iran now finds itself at the top of the list of countries that need to be dealt with. This will also be concluded from the International Atomic Energy Agency report due to be released on Wednesday.
The Guardian writes: 'The Ministry of Defence believes the US may decide to fast-forward plans for targeted missile strikes at some key Iranian facilities. British officials say that if Washington presses ahead it will seek, and receive, UK military help for any mission, despite some deep reservations within the coalition government.' This news follows the disclosure that the Israeli government is developing plans for a military strike on Iran. Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Barak are working hard to convince their cabinet ministers of the need for military action against Iran. Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that two ministers, of Foreign Affairs and Intelligence, have since adjusted their points of view. Speaking on Friday of last week, President Shimon Peres said: 'A military strike on Iran is growing more likely than the diplomatic option'.
News of the hard-line view of Iran being taken by the Israeli political leadership may have been leaked by Meir Dagan, former head of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. Earlier he criticized the current Israeli leadership. In June he said: 'I decided to speak out because when I was in office, Diskin, Ashkenazi and I could block any dangerous adventure. Now I am afraid that there is no one to stop Bibi and Barak'. Nahum Barnea, an influential columnist in Israel, wrote recently that: 'There are those who describe Netanyahu’s attitude on the matter as an obsession: All his life he dreamed of being Churchill; Iran gives him the opportunity.' Sources tell Barnea that Dagan is part of a campaign intended to thwart the Iran ambitions of Netanyahu and Barak. According to Kuwaiti newspaper Al Jarida, Netanyahu has ordered security service Shin Bet to investigate the nature of the leak.
The recent tension surrounding Iran seems to be part of a geopolitical game being played. 'My guess is that this sudden campaign on the part of the Israelis is intended to scare the U.S. and the Europeans into a very strong diplomatic and economic response when the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) report providing additional information on Iran's weaponisation activities comes out next week', says Barry Blechman, a nuclear proliferation expert at the Stimson Center. Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council: 'The bluster on military strikes tends to coincide with periods in which new sanctions are considered'.
Because an attack on Iran is now being talked about more openly than it was at first, this latest news concerning Iran represents the next phase on the road to a military conflict. By discussing it, the topic is now on the table, and the public's attention can be turned to the question of when it is going to take place.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy