Israel had waged war against its arch-enemy for twelve days. The USA is Israel’s closest ally. Trump has repeatedly threatened the leadership in Tehran with military strikes, including in connection with the brutal crackdown by state repressive forces against demonstrators in the recent anti-government protests in Iran. Thousands, if not tens of thousands of people are said to have been killed. The US military has significantly expanded its presence in the region since the beginning of January, for example with the aircraft carrier “USS Abraham Lincoln” and its accompanying ships.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, considered the Islamic Republic’s elite force and subordinate to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, plans to begin a three-day exercise in the Persian Gulf today amid military tensions. China and Russia should also take part.
The exercise in the Strait of Hormuz, in which live ammunition was to be fired, should not affect freedom of navigation and international commercial shipping in the important strait, the US regional command responsible for the Middle East (Centcom) had previously warned.
The approximately 55 kilometer wide strait between Iran and Oman is considered one of the most important shipping routes for global oil exports. Iran’s units have the right to operate in international waters and airspace, the US military said in a statement. However, no “unsafe” maneuvers such as flights over US warships or bases at low altitude will be tolerated, it said. This also applies to the approach of Iranian speedboats on a collision course with US ships.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi wrote on The presence of foreign forces “in our region has always had the opposite effect of what is announced: promoting escalation instead of de-escalation.”
The EU had previously agreed to classify Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization because of its cruel crackdown on anti-government protests. The step, which has been controversially discussed for years, comes against the background of the events of the past few weeks, EU chief diplomat Kaja Kallas said after a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels. Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi accused the EU of further fanning the flames in the region and making a major strategic mistake.
