Iran’s escalation dominance |
THE ongoing hostilities in the Israel-US war on Iran — with Tehran raining missiles and drones on the Zionist apartheid state and Washington’s interests in the region in retaliation for attacks on Iran’s military sites and infrastructure, including energy assets, and the mass murder of its leaders and schoolgirls — is one side of the equation. The other side consists of the fog generated by disinformation, claims, denials and spin.
The latest is the attack on the infrastructure of Iran’s South Pars gas fields by Israel. Within hours, Iran retaliated with an attack on the same North Dome gas facilities in Qatar (the gas fields straddle the waters of the two states and are said to be the largest gas reservoir in the world). Spread over some 9,700 square kilometres, they are said to meet 20 per cent of the global gas demand and 80pc of Asia’s needs. Iran also hit other Gulf energy sites.
In a social media post, US President Donald Trump claimed that the US had no prior knowledge of Israel’s attack on the gas infrastructure, while saying (in capital letters) that Israel would not attack energy infrastructure anymore. He went on to threaten Iran with massive US retaliation if it continued to attack energy targets in the Gulf. A little later, Israeli ‘sources’ said the US had approved the attack plan. Trump is said to have changed his tune after his Qatari allies protested in a phone call.
The region seems dangerously poised after the Gulf nations — home to US military bases and about 50,000 troops — that say they oppose the war,........