https://southfront.org/trump-stopped-strike-on-iran-but-tensions-continued-to-grow/
Tensions continued to grow in the Persian Gulf region after the shoot-down of a $110 million U.S. RQ-4A Global Hawk surveillance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps over the Straight of Hormuz on June 20.
According to the Iranian side, the UAV was in Iranian airspace off the shores of the district of Kouhmobarak when it was hit by a surface-to-air missile launched by the Khordad-3 air-defense system. On June 21, Tehran showcased vestiges of the downed UAV. The fact that Iranian forces were able to detect and reach the crash site first might lend credibility to their version of events.
Despite this, Washington insisted that the UAV was shot down over international waters describing the incident as an act of aggression. The U.S. military revealed that the downed RQ-4A was a part of the U.S. Navy’s Broad Area Maritime Surveillance program. Global Hawk variants developed under this program were designed to provide the Navy with real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities over vast ocean and coastal regions.
On June 21, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that he ordered a strike on Iranian targets, but called off the decision 10 minutes prior. On June 22, the President threatened Iran with additional sanctions adding that the possibility of military action “is always on the table.”
Anonymous sources told the Washington Post that Trump had approved a cyber attack on missile and rocket control systems of the IRGC. The supposed attack was reportedly conducted on June 20 by the U.S. Cyber Command in coordination with the military’s Central Command. According to the sources, the attack was in the works “for weeks if not months.” Nonetheless, there has been no evidence or official confirmation of such developments.
The US has few real options to demonstrate its military might in the region without the risk of provoking an open hot conflict which, according to recent US actions, Washington appears unwilling to commit to, at least for now.
At the same time, the Washington establishment and its local allies continue their diplomatic and propaganda campaign in order to justify increasing sanctions pressure upon Iran.
As reported by the Middle East Eye on June 21, speaking on condition of anonymity, a “senior British official” claimed that an unnamed Saudi intelligence chief and the Kingdom’s senior diplomat Adel al-Jubeir pleaded with British authorities to carry out limited strikes on Iranian military targets. According to the official, the failed Saudi lobbing effort took place only a few hours after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed to have aborted his planned attack against Iran.
The Saudi-led coalition showcased remains of the projectile Ansar Allah (the Houthis) used in the recent attack on Abha International Airport. The remains, which were inspected by U.S. envoy to Iran, Brian Hook, identified the projectile as being a cruise missile.
The characteristics of the fuselage and fins appear to be similar to that of the Soviet Kh-55 cruise missile. One of the photos shows the remains of the missile’s engine, identified as an TJ-100 turbojet, produced by Czech’s PBS Velká Bíteš. This engine is not known to have been used in any other missile. While the cruise missile may have been designed after the Kh-55, it remains unclear if it was developed and manufactured by Ansar Allah without external support.
In 2017, Ansar Allah claimed to have launched what looked like an Iranian Soumar cruise missile, another missile developed after the Kh-55, at the Barakah nuclear power plant in the UAE. Irregardless, if Ansar Alalh’s claim is to be believed, it could make for an explanation as to how the Yemeni group and its backers gained familiarity with the design of the missile.
It’s possible that the US will increase support to the Saudi invasion of Yemen in the framework of its on-going standoff with Iran in the region.
Combat readiness review being held from June 24 to June 28 in Russia central md.
https://eng.mil.ru/en/news_page/country/more.htm?id=12238178@egNews
“Russian Defence Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu instructed his deputy, Colonel General Alexander Fomin to inform the military attaches of foreign countries about the ongoing surprise combat readiness inspection of the troops of the Central Military District.
The inspection is carried out by the decision of Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin.”
Is this related to the situation in PG and last chance meeting with JCPOA stakeholders June 28th ?
https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/russia/64448/joint-commission-jcpoa-meet-vienna-28-june-2019_fr
And the 60 days deadline to pull out of the JCPOA coming by early July ?
Is it Russian political military message ?
This is a readiness check of the central Military District.
“It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the central Volga, Ural and Siberia regions of the country and Russian bases in Central Asian post-Soviet states.
“The Central Military District is the largest military district in Russia by geographic size at 7,060,000 square kilometers (2,730,000 sq mi) (40% of Russian territory) and population at 54.9 million people (39%). The district contains 29 federal subjects of Russia: Altai Krai, Altai Republic, Bashkortostan, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Chuvashia, Irkutsk Oblast, Kemerovo Oblast, Khakassia, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Kirov Oblast, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Kurgan Oblast, Mari El, Mordovia, Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Novosibirsk Oblast, Omsk Oblast, Orenburg Oblast, Penza Oblast, Perm Krai, Samara Oblast, Saratov Oblast, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Tatarstan, Tomsk Oblast, Tuva, Tyumen Oblast, Udmurtia, Ulyanovsk Oblast.”
This tells you it is a vast region, probably where many ICBMs are hidden, and strategic resources are located, not minimizing the 55 million people therein.
It also includes the bases in the Central Asian nations. This is the message to ISIS, AQ, NATO and US that Russia is a quick reaction away from doing to them what they did in Syria, but more so.
It is close by Iran and the Persian Gulf. If Russia were to help Iran, it would be like it helped Iraq when ISIS struck. It airlifted gunship helos and other weapons and supplies that Iraq could not get quickly or at all from its dear friends in Washington and Europe (sarcasm intended).
Russia does not have any intention to get involved if hostilities break out in the Gulf. But it is signaling to the US that the military is ready to defend Russia’s interests in the region. The Caspian Fleet is from where Kalibr missiles were fired into Syria. They could easily sink ships in the Gulf if hostilities touched Russian turf or assets in Central Asia.
The strategy laid by Russia and China two weeks ago was to work hard diplomatically to settle issues that might lead to war, in North Korea and Iran. The G 20 could be a pivotal moment for such ‘new era’ actions.
Intelligence reconnaissance by aircraft using electromagnetic surveillance is no different than a human spy who has infiltrated the sovereignty of a country to violate its national security. It matters not if the airplane flies outside the nation’s territorial airspace. Iran has changed the rules of engagement and set a precedent by preventing the U.S. from using that particular electronic collection device to contravene Iranian national security.
When Jonathan Pollard was discovered to be an agent for Israel, he was prevented from ever spying on the U.S. again. Essentially his “wings of espionage” were clipped. If Pollard resisted arrest he would have been terminated post haste.
Going forward this means that any country that deploys ELINT capability including high altitude aircraft or orbital satellites are fair game once the device has been determined to be farming for a nation’s classified data. The host country will be put on notice and warned to cease such clandestine activities or the asset will be neutralized.
Russia should bring this up for discussion within the UNSC, in my opinion.
Iran said there had been cyber attacks on the systems but none had got through being sucessfully defended…UN met yesterday re the situation…must check out .
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What is, as ever, truly bizarre, is the assertion by the Real Evil Empire that Iran is the aggressor. As has been oft stated, Iran capriciously and arrogantly placed itself within a ring of US military bases, in Iraq, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Pakistan. Oman, Sordid Barbaria, Turkey, Egypt, etc. Thank God that the heroes and heroines of the Free Press in the glorious West completely concur.
Vesti News
Putin: Absolute Disaster! US Plans on “Fixing” Iran Same Way They Fixed Libya and Iraq!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2-2mFiNdx8
Some comments
– I know That Feeling Bro: Stay home and make America great again. The rabbit out of hat tricks are
for kids.. don’t let Americans die for someone else’s greed..
– luca liberati: Bolton and his toddler Trump must win…the peace Nobel award,for Pompeo and
Netaniahu only more money in theirs wage .
– Marcel Bruinsma: Make America small again (poor they already are).
– Sutello: Time to remove 🇺🇸 to Stone age
– Ninja k: Iran and Russia are very good friends. I believe Americas actions toward war would be
really dumb. I agree with Putin. Bad idea.
Iran can preemptively close the Strait of Hormuz and plunge the world into economic chaos which would end Hegemon, but they won’t do that, preemptively that is.
If the Hegemon finds a pretext to launch missiles into Iran, then Iran must respond with military strength as that is the only moral thing to do. An explanation is in order.
Iran (and Syria, Egypt and China among a few others) are ancient civilizations. Hegemon and the 70 year old experiment are neither ancient nor are they cultures, but they seek to destroy the ancient cultures and assume the mantle of history as if Styrofoam cups can replace the Golden Chalice!
It is as if highly evolved organisms (primate, corvidae or cepholapod) were to be challenged by a synthetic strain of MRSA. The only moral thing to do is to neutralize the MRSA without damaging the host. At present, the Lobby is like MRSA that has turned into necrotizing fasciitis and is eating the host’s brain; it may not be possible to save the host.
If Hegemon succeeds in striking Iran to the extent that closing the Strait is the only alternative to surrender, then they must close the Strait.
Of course, the ensuing economic chaos will end Hegemon and the dominance of the dollar. I’m guessing only about a third of us would survive five years of that and it would be the ones living in flyover country.
If you doubt my conclusion, I suggest an experiment. Join a Nextdoor Neighbor group (its like a geographically limited FB) and scroll through the comments. Most of my ‘neighbors’ have near meltdowns if someone parks too many cars in their driveway or doesn’t retrieve the trash container immediately after the crew has emptied it. And cats. You would think we have enough cats in Central Florida, but there is a never ending stream of virtuous people donating time and money to save one cat, then another, then another …
At the same time discussion of over population, climate catastrophes, oil depletion etc etc are suppressed because nice people don’t talk about things like that. Discussions about all the people not like us (Persians, Phoenicians, Berbers, and heaven forbid Arabs) are not allowed b/c we stand for world freedom and all they want to do is kill everybody. Or so I am told.
It’s called mass insanity.
I’m afraid this country has turned into a humongous snowflake accumulation and we all know what that leads to.
The US imposition of “sanctions” on the Supreme Leader is glorious exercise in impotence.
Its a futile act that demonstrates Washington’s relative weakness in its willfully manufactured confrontation with Tehran.
Trump looks like a buffoon each time he signs one of these executive orders infront of the cameras and holds up the document ffor viewing as if to convince the world that it really is for real.
The reality is these acts are largely meaningless and changes little.
America’s decline is accelerating under Trump.
Selah
Straight of Hormuz is entirely within the international legal boundaries of Oman and Iran as far as I understand. Thus, there is no ‘international airspace’ where the drone was hit.
Has the United States of Lying Deceivers managed to show where their drone was yet? Or explained how if it was in ‘international airspace’ how it managed to fall so far into Iranian territory?…….. I wonder why not…..
As for Trump calling off the attacks, then allowing cyber attack, it makes more sense that the cyber attack was FIRST then the drone was used to test if it had been successful in knocking out the air defense for a larger attack. The P8 was just there to be sacrificed to get the terminally and willfully ignorant USA population on board for attacking Iran.