The U.S. is quietly increasing its presence in the Gulf and speeding up arms sales to several Gulf Arab states against a potential Iranian strike in advance of increased sanctions against Iran. The U.S. Navy has been deployed to key strategic areas where they will be capable of knocking hostile missiles down in flight to the region. U.S. officials have let it be known that it now has Patriot batteries in four Gulf states – Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. These moves are designed to deter Iran from launching attacks against its Sunni Muslim neighbors and to send a message to Israel that a preemptive strike against Iran is unnecessary. From the BBC:
The U.S. position on Iran was delicately summed up on 7 January by Admiral Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: “I believe they’re on a path that has a strategic intent to develop nuclear weapons, and have been for some time. I think that outcome is potentially a very, very destabilizing outcome. On the other hand, when asked about striking Iran, specifically, that also has a very, very destabilizing outcome.”
This defensive measure is seen as an adjustment in the U.S. approach since the failure to engage the Iranians diplomatically has not yielded any results. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told reporters last week that the U.S. will now press for additional sanctions against the Iranian government. Listen to an excerpt from Secretary Clinton on Power and Persuation: A Conversation with Secretaries Clinton and Gates with Frank Sesno and Christiane Amanpour on Iranian nuclear ambitions:
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The “Green Revolution” in Iran is being fueled by the numerous ways people are sharing information through social networking sites, like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Online media is playing an important role in reporting on the ongoing political protests. It has been the most effective means of communication between what’s happening in Iran and the rest of the world since there is a growing crackdown on independent Iranian and foreign journalists who want to relay what is being said on the streets and to tell the world what is happening in Tehran and other parts of Iran. From the AP:
U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard C. Holbrooke, held a meeting at The Hague with Iranian Foreign Minister Mahdi Akhundzadeh. The Los Angeles Times reports this was the Obama administration’s first face-to-face meeting with Iranian officials and represents an early move in Obama’s effort to reestablish dialogue after 30 years of hostility. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said in a news conference that Holbrooke and Akhundzadeh “agreed to keep in touch.” Iran saw this exchange differently:
Afterward, the deputy foreign minister, Mahdi Akhundzadeh, denied that any negotiations with U.S. officials had taken place. “It is neither on our agenda nor have we any plans to negotiate with the Americans,” he was quoted by the official Islamic Republic News Agency as saying.
The US-Iranian relations were not always so cool. Early in the 20th century, Iran looked to the US to fend off European domination of the Persian Gulf and after WWII, the US and the Shah of Iran developed a close alliance that lasted over 30 years. Why did relations turn sour? Listen to a clip from Iran: The Looming Confrontation that illustrates this point.
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The U.S. is quietly increasing its presence in the Gulf and speeding up arms sales to several Gulf Arab states against a potential Iranian strike in advance of increased sanctions against Iran. The U.S. Navy has been deployed to key strategic areas where they will be capable of knocking hostile missiles down in flight to the region. U.S. officials have let it be known that it now has Patriot batteries in four Gulf states – Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. These moves are designed to deter Iran from launching attacks against its Sunni Muslim neighbors and to send a message to Israel that a preemptive strike against Iran is unnecessary. From the BBC: