Monday, June 17, 2019

Iran: War 'Unavoidable'If U.S. Does Not Lift Sanctions, Rockets Fired At U.S. Military Base In Iraq





A senior adviser to the Iranian government said war is “inevitable” if the United States does not lift sanctions against Iran, Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya reported Monday.

“If American people really don’t want to go to war with Iran, the US president should abandon the current course of policy in regard to sanctioning Iran. Otherwise, rising tensions automatically will drive us to an unavoidable war, sooner or later,” said Diako Hosseini, a senior analyst at the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) in Tehran on Friday. 
According to Al-Arabiya News, the CSS is “a think tank responsible for advising the Rouhani administration in Iran on foreign policy as well as internal affairs.” President Hassan Rouhani is the chief executive of the secular wing of Iran’s government and subservient to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Hosseini also said last week that “as long as America’s economic war against Iran continues, Iran does not give any guarantees that the tools it will use to counter this economic war will be merely economic tools.”
“It is not our problem if that is a cause for concern for other countries. If they are worried, they should push America to put an end to the economic war against Iran,” he said.
Hosseini’s threats included telling the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Friday that the UAE will be “wiped out from the map” if Iran goes to war.





Report: Rockets fired at U.S. military base in Iraq



The rocket fire comes amid tensions between the US and Iran and as Islamic State continues to threaten Iraq months after its defeat in Syria.

Rockets were fired at Camp Taji, where US soldiers are based in Iraq, according to numerous reports on Monday evening. The rocket fire comes amid tensions between the US and Iran and as Islamic State continues to threaten Iraq months after its defeat in Syria.

Camp Taji, northwest of Baghdad is one of four locations used by Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve during the war against ISIS. It is a center of training for the US-led coalition that has been fighting ISIS since 2014. Taji was an important center for US forces and an area where detainees were kept in the past. It is a large military complex. It is essential for training.

Several hours after sunset on Monday reports emerged that three Katyushas had been fired at the base. Al-Arabiya reported the incident at ten in the evening.  Joyce Karam, Washington correspondent of The National wrote that “if true, more signed of escalation between US and Iran whose proxies have Katyusha.” 

Pro-Iranian paramilitaries in Iraq, many of them part of the Popular Mobilization Forces, or Hashd al-Shaabi have harassed US military personnel in the past. Rockets have been found pointed at US bases, according to reports in the past year.

Not every report noted the same information. One said five rocket struck the area, killing six. However there are Iraqis and coalition forces present, the identity of the alleged casualties were not identified, and it is likely an unverified or false report. Another report said mortars had fallen. On May 19 a rocket fired from Baghdad landed near the US embassy.





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