WRAPUP 3--Trump warned Iran via Oman that US attack imminent, called for talks - Iranian officials

Source (example):

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/21/reu...nent-called-for-talks--iranian-officials.html

"talks - Iranian officials@ (Releads with Iranian officials saying Trump warned Iran of imminent attack, called for talks)

DUBAI, June 21 (Reuters) - Iranian officials told Reuters on Friday that Tehran had received a message from U.S. President Donald Trump through Oman overnight warning that a U.S. attack on Iran was imminent.


They spoke shortly after the New York Times reported that Trump had approved military strikes against Iran on Friday in retaliation for the downing of a U.S. surveillance drone, but called off the attacks at the last minute.


“In his message, Trump said he was against any war with Iran and wanted to talk to Tehran about various issues...He gave a short period of time to get our response but Iran’s immediate response was that it is up to Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei to decide about this issue,” one of the officials told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

A second Iranian official said: “We made it clear that the leader is against any talks, but the message will be conveyed to him to make a decision...However, we told the Omani official that any attack against Iran will have regional and international consequences.”

After weeks of rising tension amid a spate of attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf, Iran said on Thursday it had shot down an unmanned U.S. military surveillance drone, fanning fears of an overt military confrontation between the longtime adversaries.

The New Times quoted a senior administration official as saying, U.S. warplanes took to the air and ships were put in position for a retaliatory attack only for an order to come to stand down, without any weapons being fired.


Targets had included Iranian radar and missile batteries, the paper cited senior administration officials involved in, or briefed on, the deliberations, as saying.

The strikes were set for early in the day to minimize risk to the Iranian military or to civilians, the Times added.

It was unclear if attacks on Iran might go ahead later, it added, nor was it known whether Trump had changed his mind or whether his administration had become concerned about logistics or strategy."

Following Iran's alleged attack on 2 oil tankers, it is now about the actual shot down of a US "Global Hawk" whose position at the time of Iran's shot down is doubtful.
It has been proven that the US has repeatedly violated Iran's airspace with drones in the past few years and some have already been shot down ... which does not make the illegal intrusion into Rinalan airspace unbelievable and thus makes firing legitimate.
Likewise ... we recall the shot down of an Iranian Airbus in international waters that had identified the air defense of a US ship as an Iranian F-14 on attack course?
Even then, no one in the US had seriously questioned this statement and told that it was a valid acton by the skipper! But ... the F-14 which Iran possesses is not at all able to attack ships and gound targets, because an air-to-air fighter only. Even in the US only the F-14D could have done ground attacks and this version came into US Navy service in the beginning of the 1990's only!

So ... Trump again on warmongering course wioth threating for attack etc ... or even attacking soon really?

 

You must have missed the fact that Iran is engaging in acts of war. Hard to believe you want to let them get away with it.

 

The fact that Trump tried to contact Iran through Oman shows that he is trying to avoid war. And since the Iranians didn't make this claim until AFTER the New York Times claimed that
Trump had launched and then recalled an attack indicates that the whole Iranian contact story may be a fabrication. The Iranians may have gotten the idea for this claim from the Times.
Iran knows Trump does not want war, and is carefully calculating its agressions to see how far they can go. The Iranian theocrats are unpopular at home, and are using these tensions
to direct the Iranian peoples' attention away from themselves toward the US. By thumbing their noses at Trump, they look strong to their own oppressed and unhappy people. Tyrants
can't afford to look weak.

 

If the US actually invaded Iran with it's military hardware, than it was the US who committed that act of war. Currently Iran has posted pictures of the debris of that drone on their soil under the watch of their army. It would be an incredible bold move to make that all up with fake crap. So in my opinion the odds are they are showing the real stuff. And so it does mean it all happened in Iranian airspace. There is simply no way Iran would be able to blow up a +100 million worth of hardware out of the sky, AND also fish it out international waters with the US navy around it. The US wouldn't have their equipment examined by Iran.

 

Trump can not afford to look weak as well. It's his entire image. He is just selling this story of sending troops to attack, to than call it all back, and than look at me making a smart move showing maximum restraint. Passing a note through Oman, the Switzerland of the region, and now going to the United Nation Security Council.

Sure.

He did this to make the far right wing hawks look bad for pushing for a war that his generals supposedly say is a bad idea. Trump could have said that he was going to take this to the UNSC all along.

 

Iran won't talk unless Trump is willing to lift sanctions.

Angry badger in the corner. The next move is Trump's

If he is smart and really wants to talk, he will get rid of Bolton and Pompeo and start lifting sanctions.

 

Iran has sshot down a Us drone in the past, in December 2011, and retro-enginered it to build drones of their own. It would be easy for them to fabricate the debris. Besides Iran said it shot the drone
down over their territorial WATERS. That is the debris went into the water. If that is true, how did Iran fish it out so quickly to put on display? Its easier to believe they had already assembled the 'debris'
and then awaited an opportunity to shoot down the drone and then out the fake 'debris' on display. The Iranians are experts at deceit.

Violations of air space are not unusual. the general response is to notify the
offending nation before taking any actions. Violations of air space are not considered invasions or acts of war. The old Soviet Union regularly violated
our air space around Alaska. Our aircraft would escort their planes away. We
never shot any down.

 

Yeah, but was Russia repeatedly and aggressively threatening you with war or trying to crush you economically or assembling a naval group off your border or did they have you surrounded with military bases and trying to corner you?

What would happen if a hostile threatening power like North Korea was flying sophisticated unmanned spy/surveillance hardware around America's borders?

They wouldn't shoot it down?

 

Yes, Foreign Minister Zarif believes that Trump does not want war. However he believes the 4 B's do that is Bolton, Bibi, Bin Salmon and Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan though I have been hearing he is not so into it. It looks like Zarif may be right.

 

What is happening is that Iranian and Venezuelan oil is being kept off the market.
Saudi Arabia is said to need $80 oil for their budget. Frackers in the US need a higher price, too, to make any profit.

Notice how, even with all the geopolitical tensions, oil is still cheap. It's like $2.05 where I live and that is down about 40 cents in the last month. Just last week a Russian oil guy was saying oil could go down to $30 without continuing production cuts.

Not saying this is the only reason for what's happening, but it is a major reason.

 

But morons when it comes to choreographing an event.

 

I have heard Trump was initially manipulated into giving up the Iran deal as he was promised Iran would come running and he could get anything he wanted and would appear a hero. Our news was saying two or three weeks ago that he would do a lot to get back the JCPA. Zarif said he was up to it if Trump was interested

It is beginning to look like he does not want war - all bark and no bite - that again is what I heard people say a few weeks ago...but also with Pompeo and Bolton he has those who really want to bite, with his bark, not a good mixture. I can't help feeling a bit impressed by him calling off last night. Iran has been saying there was also a plane alongside the drone and it had 35 people on board. They did not fire at it. It is not impossible that is true and Trump respected it.

 

Ah yes, enable Iran like past ineffectual leaders. The very Chamberlain thing to do.

 

Yes, they want to stop Venezuela oil till they get it away from the Venezuela people and into American hands. Bolton came straight out and said that - that it would be good for the US to do that. They obviously cannot stand people not into neo liberalism. They're even intending on doing something to Corbyn if he looks like winning the next UK election. He would give up the dead duck of neo liberalism.....but Bolton and Pompeo are both Christian Zionists, that is what I see as their prime motivation. Bibi wants Iran destroyed, as Christian Zionists they need 'Jews' ruling over Greater Israel and are prepared to do anything Israel wants to secure that...and then this Bin Salmon maniac just wants to destroy Iran believing then that he will rule the Muslim world and seeing Iran as a threat to their power. So there seems to be a coming together of different interests with Iran being the fall guy.

 

Except that Iran has never attacked any of it's neighbors nor declared war on anyone unlike certain other countries I can name that seem to think they can illegally attack whoever they want just because they think they can.

 

Dude. That place is just so small. That drone landed something like 20 miles from the coast of Iran. They got the place buzzing with their speedboats from the national guard. It's also rather shallow, relatively speaking. So they could have dived/fished it all up in half a day. Easy.

Iran and the US have warned each other extensively. Sounds perfectly legit that they would blow up every military hardware crossing their borders. That red line has been so drawn.