US-planned Persian Gulf coalition meant to blockade Iran: Commentator

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/08/04/602622/Iran-US-Persian-Gulf-coalition-blockade?fbclid=IwAR23chROS_-nJnFF_bLACItMZOCcKl-U58T_oaFB5SrV8Qf_ogiulIJrEgg
New York-based political expert Nasir al-Omari (L) and independent journalist and researcher Keith Preston speak on Press TV’s The Debate program on August 3, 2019.

A political commentator says a United States-planned force seeking to sail in the Persian Gulf would be a prelude to the enforcement of a blockade against Iran.

Author and commentator Nasir al-Omari said on Press TV’s The Debate program on Saturday that although the plan has been presented to the US’s allies as a means of protecting the vessels sailing across the Hormuz Strait, “I think that the world understands that these moves are really intended to be a blockade of Iran.”

“Once you have these warships, then this turns quickly into a blockade,” he said.

The US has said the naval force would be ensuring the safety of foreign vessels sailing through the Strait of Hormuz in the strategic Persian Gulf. However, key Washington allies Germany and Japan have refused to join, and France has expressed reservations.

Omari said the rejection of the American initiative was “a positive indication” that the international community was not rushing toward a confrontation with Iran.

In order to tackle the standing escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran at its root, he said, one has to aim for the underlying cause of the situation.

“The root problem has not been solved, and that is the sanctions against Iran,” Omari said.

Washington left a multilateral nuclear accord with Tehran and other states last year and re-imposed the sanctions that the deal had lifted. It has since been imposing further sanctions as well.

Keith Preston, an independent journalist and researcher who was also on the program, referred to Japan and Germany’s refusal to be part of the force and said, “The US’s alliances are far weaker than perceived.”

He said Tokyo and Berlin had refused because of Washington’s performance in the past, when it left the nuclear agreement with Iran “against the objection of virtually every US ally” and engaged in “disastrous” regional military interventions.

Israeli Lobby behind Senate Failure to Overturn Saudi Arms Sale Veto: US Analyst

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The US Senate failed in its latest bid to block the controversial sale of $8.1bn worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia due to the influence of the powerful Israeli lobby in the United States, an American political analyst said.

“…Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also allies of Israel, which is extraordinarily powerful in the United States as well. The (US) President has a very close relationship with Israel, and the Israel lobby essentially controls much of the US Congress. The American petroleum industry and other US business interests also maintain massive holdings in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. For these reasons, the President vetoed the resolutions, and the resolutions did not receive enough support in the Senate to override the veto,” Keith Preston, the chief editor and director of attackthesystem.com, told Tasnim.

Keith Preston was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. He received degrees in Religious Studies, History, and Sociology from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is the founder and director of American Revolutionary Vanguard and the chief editor of AttacktheSystem.Com. He has also been a contributor to LewRockwell.Com, Antiwar.Com, Anti-State.Com, Taki’s Magazine, Radix Journal, and AlternativeRight.Com . He is the author of six books, and was awarded the 2008 Chris R. Tame Memorial Prize by the United Kingdom’s Libertarian Alliance. Keith has been a featured speaker at conferences of the National Policy Institute, H. L. Mencken Club, and Anarchapulco. He has been interviewed on numerous radio programs and internet broadcast, and appeared as a guest analyst on Russia Today, Press TV and the BBC.

The following is the full text of the interview.

Tasnim: The US Senate has stopped short of forming a majority required to override President Donald Trump’s veto in July of three congressional resolutions aimed at blocking the country’s arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. What is your take on this?

Preston: The three resolutions that were developed by members of Congress concerning Saudi Arabia and the UAE were rooted in four basic concerns. The first of these was Saudi Arabia’s role in orchestrating the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who as a columnist for the Washington Post was a member of the American media. The Washington Post is one of America’s leading publications, and the majority of the American media is supportive of the Democratic Party. The second issue is the ongoing war in Yemen, of which Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been the primary instigators, and the de facto genocide that is being imposed on Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition, and the blockade to which Yemen has been subjected. The third consideration is Saudi Arabia’s and the UAE’s terrible human rights records. Saudi Arabia is a country that imposes medieval punishments for petty offenses and engages in the persecution of religious minorities and political dissidents. The UAE has a terrible human rights record as well. The fourth consideration is Saudi Arabia’s current drive to obtain nuclear technology and fears that Saudi Arabia may be seeking nuclear weapons. However, the Trump administration has been very close to Saudi Arabia and some of President Trump’s personal associates maintain business dealings in the kingdom. Additionally, both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are an important export market for American arms manufacturers, and the arms manufacturers exercise very powerful control over the US Senate, particularly the Republican Party. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also allies of Israel, which is extraordinarily powerful in the United States as well. The President has a very close relationship with Israel, and the Israel lobby essentially controls much of the US Congress. The American petroleum industry and other US business interests also maintain massive holdings in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. For these reasons, the President vetoed the resolutions, and the resolutions did not receive enough support in the Senate to override the veto.

Tasnim: Congress has been trying to intervene in Washington’s untrammeled arms sales to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, which have been leading an invasion of Yemen since March 2015. Congress also aimed at attempting to pressure the Saudi government to improve its human rights record. Why did Trump win the veto fight?

Preston: The President specifically stated that he has vetoed these resolutions because of the perceived importance of Saudi Arabia as a trading partner and military ally of the United States. The range of economic, foreign policy, and international interests that have a stake in maintaining the US-Saudi and US-UAE relationships exercises considerable influence over the President’s thinking and policy actions.

Tasnim: Since Trump won the 2016 election, a group of US businessmen has sought to profit on deals to build nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia, while trying to avoid US restrictions designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, the House Oversight Committee said in a new report. Do you believe so? Please explain.

Preston: Yes, it is readily apparent that Saudi Arabia wishes to build nuclear power plants, and that various US business interests, including those close to the President, have sought to assist Saudi Arabia with this effort. An effort of this kind would be in violation of US policies that are intended for the purpose of preventing nuclear proliferation. Given Saudi Arabia’s complete disregard for human rights, aggressive stance toward other nations, and support for terrorism, the possibility of Saudi Arabia acquiring nuclear technology is certainly cause for concern.

White House Desperate to Rein in Saudi ‘Loose Cannon’: US Analyst

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An American political analyst said the White House now views Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman as a “loose cannon” who has turned into an “international liability”, adding that Washington is trying to keep a tight rein on him.

“Well, I think there is a number of issues going on. First of all, we have to 
understand the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States. 
Saudi Arabia is probably one of the United States' closest allies in the 
Middle East along with Israel. And Saudi Arabia is also a major export 
market for American armaments. Recently, there was a multibillion-dollar 
arms deal between the United States and Saudi Arabia and this is a major 
boom to American arms manufacturers. This is essentially a foreign export 
market for armaments that is underwritten by the American government. So, 
there are a lot of vested interest who want to preserve this relationship,” 
Keith Preston, the chief editor of AttacktheSystem, told Tasnim.

The United States and Saudi Arabia are connected at every level, he added.

Referring to the situation in Yemen, Preston described it as serious.

“That is now the worst humanitarian crisis anywhere in the world. And 
it's become something bringing a lot of international criticism to the Saudis. 
It's gotten to the point even that the American media cannot ignore what is 
happening in Yemen. Until very recently, America's media almost never 
reported on anything to do with the war in Yemen not even the anti-Trump 
media. I mean much of the media in the United States is affiliated with the 
Democratic Party, which is the opposition party to the president’s 
administration, but even those networks did not report what was happening 
in Yemen. But that changed recently. Recently MSNBC, actually did run a 
story about what's happening in Yemen. So, the Yemen situation has gotten 
so bad that it can't be ignored by American policy makers or by the American 
media.

“As far as the Khashoggi incident (is concerned), he, Mohammad bin Salman, 
made a mistake of having someone killed who was actually a prominent 
American journalist. Even though he was in Saudi Arabia, he had been living 
in United States for years and actually written for some major newspapers. 
So, this is not someone that they can just hush up or sweep under the rug. 
Particularly, because of the role of the Turks in this, because the Turks 
actually may have recordings of this and that, and they have been, the 
Turks, the Turkish government has actually been providing this to the 
international media and the Turkish government I think by the way 
is being very shrewd. What they are trying to do is trying to work and 
drive a wedge between the Americans and the Saudis and they are 
playing this strategically very well. But this has gotten to be a situation 
that United States simply can't ignore and now a bill has been introduced
 in the American Senate, legislation has been introduced that would halt arm 
sales to Saudi Arabia. ... If it passes, the president, Donald Trump, would have
 to sign again the legislation. So, this is still something that is in the works.”

Noting that the prince has overstepped certain boundaries, Preston said, 
“I think the best probable solution that the Americans ultimately prefer and 
I suspect that behind the scenes the Americans are working with the 
Saudi Royal family to work to have this individual removed from power”.

Watch the full interview here: http://tn.ai/1886993