Via Zero Hedge by Tyler Durden
Various international reports have said that the White House is seriously considering Iran’s proposal for indirect nuclear talks, however, on Tuesday the U.S. slapped more sanctions on the Islamic Republic as part of the Trump’s restored “maximum pressure” campaign.
The Treasury Department in this latest move sanctioned several entities based in Iran, the UAE, and China – saying they are involved in “procurement of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) components on behalf of Iran-based Qods Aviation Industries (QAI)—a leading manufacturer for Iran’s UAV program.”
At the same time, it has become a central White House talking point that Iran and the Houthis are like hand-in-glove. The administration has been declaring that the over two week bombing mission in Yemen is huge blow to Iran.
Currently a second US aircraft carrier is en route to the Middle East. This was confirmed Tuesday with an order by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to send the USS Carl Vinson and accompanying warships to the region. There it will join the USS Harry Truman – which has already come under repeat attempts of the Houthis to attack it in the Red Sea region.
The Vinson is traveling to the area from the Asia Pacific. Hegseth has also “ordered the deployment of additional squadrons and other air assets that will further reinforce our defensive air-support capabilities.”
Paris is on Wednesday hosting Iran-related diplomatic talks over finding a way forward. France’s Foreign Ministry has issued a statement saying the window of opportunity for a new nuclear agreement with Iran is “narrow and if a deal cannot be reached then a military confrontation seems to be almost inevitable.”
President Trump has basically laid out a strong, provocative ultimatum: Tehran can either sign a fresh deal or face American bombs.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has hit back, warning a “strong counterattack” would certainly ensue. Iranian state media has been highlighting that some ten U.S. military bases in the region are in range of Iranian missiles.
Another sign that Trump might be serious about preemptive strikes is that last week the Pentagon dispatched at least five B-2 bombers to the American base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
This puts the bombers within close striking distance of either Iran or Yemen. Likely any escalation between Tehran and Washington would occur outside Iran, with the U.S. likely to strike at “proxies” first.
Russia and Iran have meanwhile still been talking about Moscow running point as an outside mediator between Tehran and Washington over its nuclear energy program. The U.S. administration has so far seemed open to this.
Read in its entirety at ZeroHedge.com.
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