Critics Warn Top Trump Adviser Has Put United Kingdom on Path to War With Iran By Jake Johnson!
(2019-07-23 at 17:27:55 )

Critics Warn Top Trump Adviser Has Put United Kingdom on Path to War With Iran By Jake Johnson

"By threatening Iran with -serious consequences,- without knowing what that may entail, Britain blindly dances to the beat of United States national security adviser John Boltons war drums."

With the United Kingdom and Iran in the midst of a tense and dangerous standoff after the tit-for-tat seizure of oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, international observers are warning that the British government has fallen into a trap set by hawkish United States national security adviser John Bolton that could lead to a devastating military conflict.

After British commandos earlier this month swarmed and detained Irans Grace 1 oil supertanker in waters east of Gibraltar, Mr. Bolton applauded the move as "excellent news" and said "United States of America and our allies will continue to prevent regimes in Tehran and Damascus from profiting off this illicit trade."

Simon Tisdall, foreign affairs editor and commentator for The Guardian, wrote over the weekend that "Mr. Boltons delighted reaction suggested the seizure was a surprise."

"But accumulating evidence suggests the opposite is true, and that Mr. Boltons national security team was directly involved in manufacturing the Gibraltar incident," wrote Tisdall. "The suspicion is that Conservative politicians, distracted by picking a new prime minister, jockeying for power, and preoccupied with Brexit, stumbled into an United States of American trap."

Shortly after British forces seized Grace 1, Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said the United Kingdoms capture of the tanker was carried out under orders from the United States.

Mr. Tisdall pointed to a story last week by Spanish newspaper El Pais, which reported that the Iranian tanker "had been under surveillance by United States satellites since April."

"Although Spanish officials, speaking after the event, said they would have intercepted the ship -if we had had the information and the opportunity,- Spain took no action at the time," Mr. Tisdall wrote.

"But Bolton, in any case, was not relying on Madrid. The United States had already tipped off Britain.

On 4 July, after Grace 1 entered British-Gibraltar territorial waters, the fateful order was issued in London-it is not known by whom-and 30 marines stormed aboard."

The United Kingdoms seizure of Grace 1-denounced by the Iranian government as an act of "maritime piracy"-led Iran to counter on Friday by capturing a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, ratcheting up tensions in the Persian Gulf and prompting the British government to warn of "serious consequences" if the tanker was not released.

The perilous standoff, Mr. Tisdall argued, is precisely the outcome Mr. Bolton was seeking.

"The Bolton gambit succeeded," Mr. Tisdall wrote. "Despite its misgivings, Britain has been co-opted on to the front line of Washingtons confrontation with Iran.

The process of polarization, on both sides, is accelerating. The nuclear deal is closer to total collapse. And by threatening Iran with -serious consequences,- without knowing what that may entail, Britain blindly dances to the beat of Mr. Boltons war drums."

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif offered a similar assessment in a series of tweets on Sunday.

Make no mistake:

Having failed to lure -realDonaldTrump into War of the Century, and fearing collapse of his #B_Team, -AmbJohnBolton is turning his venom against the United Kingdom in hopes of dragging it into a quagmire.

Only prudence and foresight can thwart such ploys.- Javad Zarif July 21, 2019

The B Team is the name Mr. Zarif has given to a group of officials that consists of Bolton, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mr. Bolton in particular has been at the center of escalating military tensions between the United States and Iran, which were sparked by President Trumps decision last year to violate the Iran nuclear accord.

As Common Dreams reported in May, Bolton used the routine deployment of a United States bomber task force to the Middle East to threaten Iran with "unrelenting force."

After Iran in June shot down an unmanned United States drone that it said violated its airspace, Mr. Bolton was among the group of officials urging President Trump to retaliate with airstrikes. The president approved the strikes then backed off at the last minute.

Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, warned Sunday that by following Washingtons orders in the Gulf, the United Kingdom is repeating the mistakes it made in the lead-up to the United States-led invasion if Iraq.

"In 2003, the United Kingdom broke with the E.U. and foolishly sided with Bush over Iraq.

London not only devastated the Middle East, it also undermined the E.U.," Parsi tweeted. "Now, the United Kingdom is at it again by doing Mr. Boltons bidding and allowing him to make the U.K.-E.U. collateral damage in his war plans with Iran."

"Why did the United Kingdom agree to Mr. Boltons request to confiscate an Iranian oil tanker, knowing very well Iran would retaliate by taking a British one in return?" Parsi asked. "Does the United Kingdom want war?

Does E.U. interest not matter to London?

Stunned these questions have not been asked. Answers are needed."

Reprinted here from "Common Dreams" has been providing breaking news & views for the progressive community since 1997. We are independent, non-profit, advertising-free and 100% reader supported.