R.A Brock
Staff Writer / Copy Editor
After a tumultuous week in Middle Eastern politics, the U.S. is ramping up military resources in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.
On September 14, a drone attack on a Saudi Arabian oil refinery caused a 50 percent reduction in the country’s crude oil output. Saudi Arabia produces 5 percent of the world’s crude oil and produces just over 11 million barrels of crude daily. We have noticed that here our gas prices rose about 10 to 15 cents over the last week.
But what does this have to do with Iran? Our current administration is blaming the drone attack on Iran, where a Yemeni pro-Iranian rebel group, the Houthi, claimed they had actually carried out the attack.
Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said in an interview with CBS’s Face The Nation, “…that came from the north. It was a sophisticated attack. These weapons systems had ranges that could not have come from the Houthis… This was an attack by Iran on the world. This was an act of war.”
During the interview, Pompeo also provides no evidence as to if Iran condoned or even carried it out stating“…it is the intelligence community’s determination that is likely the case that these were launched from Iran.”
It is my belief that the U.S. is looking for an excuse to invade Iran, even if Pompeo says it isn’t. This is because, over the last few months, oil tankers have been seized by Iran and our 2015 Nuclear deal with Iran fell apart.
Iran has been a flea on our back since 1979 during the Iranian Revolution. More recently, this year, Iran threatened to enrich more uranium beyond the levels stated in the Nuclear deal as retaliation for the U.S. imposing more sanctions on their country. After the sanctions had not been lifted, they are producing more enriched uranium.
Iran has been seizing oil tankers likely under false pretenses in order to disrupt the oil supply of other countries, causing an uproar amongst countries trying to procure Saudi Arabian oil. The U.S. is Saudi Arabia’s largest customer when it comes to crude.
Now, after the attack on the Aramco oil processing facilities in Saudi Arabia, the U.S. is sick of dealing with all the complications Iran is causing, likely using this event as a breaking point in these tense escalations. Pompeo had advised President Trump on how to go about putting more pressure on Iran.
President Trump has ordered more troops to Saudi Arabia to “strengthen air and missile defenses” in Saudi Arabia and the UAE along with additional sanctions put in place against the Iranian National Bank a few days ago.
Secretary Pompeo maintained in the earlier interview that the U.S is looking for diplomatic solutions and preventative measures like sanctions are being taken seriously, saying “we are at the beginning of a sanctions campaign.”
I disagree with our government on this being our plan of action with Iran. Simply put, we are cornering Iran, a sovereign nation that, while wrong about many aspects of their policy, is still a state actor. When we leave this country with few options and struggling to make strong financial decisions, a survival mode kicks in that could be volatile and extremely unpredictable.
Multiple Iranian officials have said that Iran is ready for war. One commander stating “Iran has always been ready for a ‘full-fledged’ war.”
Essentially, if Iran continues provoking the U.S. while the U.S. and other countries continue to sanction Iran, tensions will continue and the region will continue to destabilize, inevitably into another war over oil.
Personally, I think this echoes “The War in Iraq” all over again.
Categories: Opinions
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