Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller has reversed his decision to redeploy the aircraft carrier Nimitz, keeping the vessel in the Persian Gulf after threats from Iran against President Trump.

“Due to the recent threats issued by Iranian leaders against President Trump and other U.S. government officials, I have ordered the USS Nimitz to halt its routine redeployment,” said Miller in a statement released on Sunday.

“The USS Nimitz will now remain on station in the U.S. Central Command area of operations,” he added. “No one should doubt the resolve of the United States of America.”

Three days earlier, the carrier had been ordered to return home in a show of de-escalating tensions with Iranian leadership.

It is unclear what led to Miller’s reversal, but The New York Times notes that messaging from Iranian officials has increased in severity in the past few days.

The newspaper added that Trump administration officials indicated on Sunday that the decision was influenced by the upcoming week, which involves a Georgia runoff election and the certification of President-elect Joe Biden‘s victory, with the White House reportedly opposed to the image of an aircraft carrier moving away from the Middle East.

A senior military official told reporters last week that U.S. intelligence reports indicated that Iran might possibly seek revenge for the killing of top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani by carrying out an attack on Sunday, the one-year anniversary of his death.

Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, accused Trump on New Year’s Eve of attempting to “fabricate pretext for war” with threats of retaliation.

Iran is suspected of being behind the December rocket attack against the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, the largest such attack in a decade.

Source: https://thehill.com/news-by-subject/defense-homeland-security/532484-pentagon-keeping-aircraft-carrier-in-persian-gulf

The post Pentagon keeping aircraft carrier in Persian Gulf despite earlier announcement first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

In the wake of Fakhrizadeh’s death Friday, Iran’s foreign minister, in a tweet, called the death “cowardice — with serious indications of Israeli role,” while the Iranian Armed Forces chief of staff warned of “severe revenge” against the scientist’s killers.

David Andelman – Credit: c/o David Andelman

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had no immediate comment, though it’s likely he, along with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, discussed how to work against Iran in a meeting in Neom, Saudi Arabia, last Sunday, where Mossad head Yossi Cohen was also present. (One of Netanyahu’s confidants, Israeli cabinet minister Tzachi Hanegbi, said Saturday he had “no clue” who was behind the killing.)

According to Amos Yadlin, the executive director of Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, it’s likely the three sides were planning what moves to make before a Biden administration takes office and reengages with Iran. (Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister denied the meeting took place). It’s also worth mentioning that Fakhrizadeh’s assassination follows the pattern of other Mossad attacks on senior officials in the Iranian nuclear program.

Saturday, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani blamed Israel for the killing, but promised a response only at “the right time.” Still, the circumstances of the attack — Fakhrizadeh’s car was ambushed in daylight just east of the capital — had to be horrifying and deeply embarrassing to Iran. The nation’s inability to protect itself from a strike in its heartland would seem to make it that much more difficult for moderates in Iran to exercise restraint as the country gears up for presidential election in June 2021.

It remains unclear whether the United States had any prior knowledge of the attack. Early this month, President Donald Trump asked senior advisers to explore the possibilities for an offensive strike against Iran’s main nuclear site, according to The New York Times, after the International Atomic Energy Agency issued a report that said Iran’s stockpile of uranium was 12 times the limit set under the Iran nuclear deal, from which Trump withdrew in 2018. At that meeting, Vice President Mike Pence and Pompeo, along with other aides, warned that such action could lead to a much broader conflict with potentially horrific consequences for the United States.

Following the attack on Fakhrizadeh, Trump retweeted an Israeli journalist, who wrote, “(Fakhrizadeh) was head of Iran’s secret military program and wanted for many years by Mossad. His death is a major psychological and professional blow for Iran.”

The timing of Fakhrizadeh’s death is notable. The United States is entering a potentially dangerous period as the anniversary nears of the death of Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian general, in a US drone strike in Iraq, January 3. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard officers, along with many Iranians who revered the leader, believed Tehran’s response — a single missile strike on two US military facilities with enough warning to avoid any casualties — was weak.

Now, the assassination of Fakhrizadeh, who, like Soleimani, was a member of the Revolutionary Guard, only throws more fuel on a fire that Netanyahu, for one, seems to have little interest in extinguishing. After all, there was no apparent indication Fakhrizadeh was planning an immediate operation that could have threatened either Israel or America.

The attack — which may have been timed to take place in the final weeks of Trump’s presidency — could spell trouble for the Biden administration. The President-elect is eager to re-enter the Iran nuclear agreement, and a violent Iranian reprisal might scupper the chance at renewed negotiations before Biden even enters office.

Iran will have to weigh competing priorities as it looks ahead. The radical Revolutionary Guard, still smarting over the assassination of Soleimani, will likely call for swift action. But there are also moderates who may be open to cooperating with the incoming Biden administration in a desperate bid to remove the bootheel of sanctions from the nation’s economy as it struggles with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The key unanswered question is whether Iran will be able to restrain its reflexive impulses to retaliate for Fakhrizadeh’s death. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was seen weeping at Soleimani’s funeral, is believed to have close ties to the Revolutionary Guard, which has been instrumental in keeping him in power for more than 30 years. He has already called for revenge and vowed to continue the country’s “scientific” activities in a veiled reference to the country’s nuclear activities.

But Iranian leaders may also heed moderate forces in the interest of encouraging Biden’s hope of returning to the nuclear agreement and relief from sanctions.

Will Iran direct its wrath against the United States or focus on retaliating against Israel in response to Fakhrizadeh’s killing? And then, the broader question: If Iran does retaliate against Israel, will it respond in kind?

At least Saturday’s comments from Rouhani raise the hope that there may actually be some adults in the room. They may well be capable of exercising the kind of restraint that could allow the incoming Biden administration to move toward a restoration of the nuclear agreement and a control over any Iranian inclination to rush full-tilt toward a bomb.

Above all, it is imperative for Trump to exercise restraint rather than escalate what is already a tense situation. Biden has already signaled on numerous occasions that he will abide by the tradition that there is only one president in charge at a time. But if Trump decides to dive headfirst into this dangerous conflict, Biden and his new national security team will have to be prepared to face a world of hurt when they step into the White House this January.

Source: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/death-irans-top-nuclear-scientist-212121947.html

The post What the death of Iran’s top nuclear scientist could mean for Biden first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Iran has issued an arrest warrant for US President Donald Trump over the killing of top Iranian commander Gen Qasem Soleimani in Iraq in January.

Tehran prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr said Mr. Trump and 35 others faced murder and terrorism charges, and that Interpol had been asked to help detain them.

However, Interpol said it would not consider the Iranian request.

The US special representative for Iran said the warrant was a propaganda stunt that nobody would take seriously.

Soleimani died in a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport ordered by Mr. Trump, who said the general was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American troops and was planning imminent attacks.

Iran retaliated by firing ballistic missiles at Iraqi military bases housing US forces.

“About 36 individuals have been identified in connection with the assassination of Hajj Qasem. They supervised, acted upon, and ordered [it],” Mr. Alqasimehr was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.

“This includes political and military officials from the US as well as other countries, for whom the judiciary has issued arrest warrants and the Interpol has issued Red Notices.”

Mr. Trump was on the top of the list and his arrest would be sought even after his presidency had ended, the prosecutor added.

• Trump: ‘We took action to stop, not start a war’
• UN expert: Soleimani killing breached international norms
• What does the law say about Soleimani’s assassination?

Deputy Foreign Minister Mohsen Baharvand said Iran’s judiciary would soon issue an indictment for those responsible for the attack on Gen Soleimani and was hoping to identify the operators of the drone, according to the Isna news agency.

“Iran will not stop its efforts until these people are brought to justice,” he declared.

An Interpol Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. It is not an international arrest warrant.

US special representative Brian Hook said: “Our assessment is that Interpol does not intervene and issue Red Notices that are based on a political nature.

“This is a political nature. This has nothing to do with national security, international peace or promoting stability… It is a propaganda stunt that no-one takes seriously.”

Interpol, which is based in the French city of Lyon, subsequently told the BBC that it would not consider the Iranian request for help.

Under its constitution, it was “strictly forbidden for the organization to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character”, it said.

Analysts say the issuing of the arrest warrant is little more than a symbolic gesture by Iran, but that it reflects the depth of animosity felt towards President Trump.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53223523

The post Qasem Soleimani: Iran seeks Trump’s arrest over killing of general first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.