Iran Government
Brian Jenkins: All-out US-Iran war is unlikely – But low-level war expected to continue
The American drone attack that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani last week is the latest move in a low-level war between Iran and the U.S. that has been waged with varying degrees of intensity for over 40 years – and is likely to continue long into the future. Some people fear that recent events will escalate the long conflict into a costly all-out war between the two countries. Others may welcome what they see as the necessary and inevitable showdown leading ultimately to regime change in Tehran. The killing of Soleimani – the most prominent military figure in Iran and close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – can be seen as an escalation and will almost certainly provoke Iranian retaliation. President Trump's boast of ordering the killing of Soleimani may further increase pressure on Iran to respond.
Dan Gainor: Media criticize killing of Iranian terrorist Soleimani and glorify him
The U.S. drone strike this week that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani – a terrorist murderer responsible for thousands of deaths – resulted in extensive news coverage that criticized President Trump for ordering his killing and falsely portrayed Soleimani in a positive light. Journalists couldn't pile on enough praise or make enough ridiculous comparisons glorifying Soleimani – from the despicable to the ridiculous. He was like Gen. George Patton or the Duke of Wellington (Business Insider), and former French President Charles de Gaulle or the French Foreign Legion (CNN). That strategy was hardly new. Back in 2017, Time magazine piled on the praise, saying Soleimani was "James Bond, Erwin Rommel and Lady Gaga rolled into one." Wacky leftist "Young Turks" correspondent/producer Emma Vigeland joined the postmortem comparison chorus with her own oddball take: "Imagine the Iranian government assassinated Mike Pompeo with a drone, at the direction of the president, and called it self-defense," she wrote.
Daniel Turner: US can withstand Iranian attack on global oil supplies, thanks to Trump energy policies
Fox Business reporter Jackie DeAngelis on how the U.S. strike will impact oil prices and the economy. The threat Friday by a top Iranian military leader to attack "vital American targets" in or near the Strait of Hormuz – the waterway through which about 20 percent of the world's oil is transported – illustrates why President Trump's pro-American energy policies are critical to our national security. Iranian leaders have promised military action to retaliate for the killing of terrorist Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike this week that was ordered by President Trump. Soleimani commanded the elite Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and was killed because he was planning deadly new attacks against Americans and others, President Trump and other U.S. officials have said. Senior Revolutionary Guards commander Gen. Gholamali Abuhamzeh said Friday that "the Strait of Hormuz is a vital point for the West and a large number of American destroyers and warships cross there."
Brett Velicovich on the drone that took down Soleimani: 'You only get one shot'
WhiteFox Defense Strategic Advisor and drone expert Brett Velicovich discusses the operation and mission of the airstrike that hit General Qassem Soleimani. You only get "one shot" while taking down a target like Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, drone expert Brett Velicovich said Saturday. Appearing on "America's News HQ: Weekend" with host Ed Henry, Velicovich -- who once tracked Soleimani's movements -- said that the drone strike on Soleimani was a " forceful reminder that the Iranians can no longer attack Americans with impunity, [as well as] that the U.S. government can retaliate with a wide variety of options that are both devastating actions that are short of war." "Thanks to President Trump's decisive action, we are able to use one of the tools within the government's arsenal to strike and to strike Soleimani with precision," he added. The MQ-9 Reaper drone was used to strike Soleimani early Friday at the Baghdad International Airport. With a range of 1,150 miles and the ability to fly at altitudes of 50,000 feet, the Reaper weighs almost 5,000 pounds.
Michael Pregent: Trump confronts Iran with strength – Obama showed weakness and Iran became more dangerous
Iran vows retaliation; Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, Walid Phares, and Rep. Mark Green react. A giant question mark hangs over the Middle East as the world waits to see what action Iran will take to retaliate for the long-overdue killing Friday morning of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike ordered by President Trump. President Trump made the right decision in ordering Soleimani killed in Iraq. I've been arguing for four years that we ought to take out this dangerous enemy of the United States, who was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans and wanted to kill many more. Thankfully, his killing days are over.
What to Know About the Death of Iranian General Suleimani
Get live updates and reaction here. The American drone attack near the Baghdad airport early Friday that killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the powerful Iranian commander, drastically ratcheted up tensions between Washington and Tehran, threatening to tip hostilities into war. Here's what to know about what happened and what comes next. General Suleimani was Iran's most powerful security and intelligence commander.
Tulsi Gabbard says U.S. should re-enter Iran nuclear deal, end sanctions in response to Saudi Arabia drone attack
Democratic presidential hopeful Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, said Thursday that she would re-enter the Iran nuclear deal and end sanctions in response to Iran's involvement in drone attack against Saudi Arabia oil facilities if she was president. "What I would do is, I would re-enter the Iran nuclear deal to prevent Iran from continuing to move forward in building a nuclear weapon that puts us and the world further at risk," Gabbard said on "The Story with Martha MacCallum." Every day that we don't do this, every day we continue down this failed strategy Iran gets closer and closer to a nuclear weapon. U.S. officials told Fox News on Tuesday that Iranian cruise missiles and drones were both used in the attack on the two Saudi Arabian oil facilities, and that they were fired from inside southwest Iran this past weekend. Gabbard called the attack a "retaliation" against "extreme sanctions."
Saudi Arabia says Iranian missiles and drones attacked oil sites but stops short of blaming Tehran
RIYADH – Saudi Arabia alleged Wednesday an attack by drones and cruise missiles on the heart of the kingdom's oil industry was "unquestionably sponsored by Iran," naming but not directly accusing Tehran of launching the assault. Iran denies being involved in the attack claimed by Yemeni rebels, and has threatened the U.S. that it will retaliate "immediately" if Tehran is targeted in response. The news conference by Saudi military spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki comes after a summer of heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. over President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrawing America from Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The U.S. alleges Iran launched the attack, which Yemen's Houthi rebels earlier claimed as a response to the yearslong Saudi-led war there that's killed tens of thousands of people. Al-Malki made a point not to directly accuse Iran of firing the weapons or launching them from inside of Iranian territory.
Precision attack on Saudi oil facility seen as part of dangerous new pattern
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – The assault on the beating heart of Saudi Arabia's vast oil empire follows a new and dangerous pattern that's emerged across the Persian Gulf this summer of precise attacks that leave few obvious clues as to who launched them. Beginning in May with the still-unclaimed explosions that damaged oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, the region has seen its energy infrastructure repeatedly targeted. Those attacks culminated with Saturday's assault on the world's biggest oil processor in eastern Saudi Arabia, which halved the oil-rich kingdom's production and caused energy prices to spike. Some strikes have been claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels, who have been battling a Saudi-led coalition in the Arab world's poorest country since 2015. Their rapidly increasing sophistication fuels suspicion among experts and analysts however that Iran may be orchestrating them -- or perhaps even carrying them out itself as the U.S. alleges in the case of Saturday's attack.
Attack on Saudi oil sites raises risks amid U.S.-Iran tensions; Mike Pompeo already blames Tehran
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – A weekend drone attack on Saudi Arabia that cut into global energy supplies and halved the kingdom's oil production threatened Sunday to fuel a regional crisis, as Iran denied U.S. allegations it launched the assault and tensions remained high over Tehran's collapsing nuclear deal. Iran called the U.S. claims "maximum lies," while a commander in its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard reiterated its forces could strike U.S. military bases across the Mideast with their arsenal of ballistic missiles. A prominent U.S. senator suggested striking Iranian oil refineries in response to the assault, claimed by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, on Saudi Arabia's largest oil processing facility. "Because of the tension and sensitive situation, our region is like a powder keg," warned Guard Brig. "When these contacts come too close, when forces come into contact with one another, it is possible a conflict happens because of a misunderstanding."