Popular Articles
Today Week Month Year


Defense officials warn: Iran could use Israel-Palestine chaos as an “opportunity” to attack American forces all over the Middle East
By Arsenio Toledo // Oct 13, 2023

The Department of Defense has warned that the ongoing escalated conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip could be used as an "opportunity" by Iran to strike American targets all over the Middle East.

Pentagon officials are specifically worried that militant groups backed by Iran or Iranian forces stationed in the Persian Gulf, could take advantage of the heightened instability in the region to attack the United States or partner forces operating in the region, particularly in Iraq and Syria. (Related: Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah ready to "join the battle" in Gaza, warns Hamas leader.)

"That presents an opportunity," said one Pentagon official who spoke with Politico on condition of anonymity.

U.S. military forces stationed in Iraq and Syria are reportedly "aware of malign actors who may seek to capitalize on conflicts and instability in the region," said Maj. Geoffrey Carmichael, the director of public affairs for the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led coalition to counter Islamic State remnants in Iraq and Syria.

"We will not let nefarious actors pull us into engagements that detract from our mission," added Carmichael. He did not mention Iran by name, but he did add: "Make no mistake, we reserve our inherent right to self-defense whenever faced with threats that place our forces in harm's way."

The U.S. has about 2,500 troops in Iraq who are not assigned to combat missions but remain in the country advising the Iraqi military. The U.S. has an additional 900 troops in Syria working with local armed groups to counter ISIS.

Human knowledge is under attack! Governments and powerful corporations are using censorship to wipe out humanity's knowledge base about nutrition, herbs, self-reliance, natural immunity, food production, preparedness and much more. We are preserving human knowledge using AI technology while building the infrastructure of human freedom. Speak freely without censorship at the new decentralized, blockchain-power Brighteon.io. Explore our free, downloadable generative AI tools at Brighteon.AI. Support our efforts to build the infrastructure of human freedom by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com, featuring lab-tested, certified organic, non-GMO foods and nutritional solutions.

Alleged Iranian involvement unfounded

Since the beginning of the conflict, American security leaders and mainstream media outlets have claimed that Iran is somehow involved. The Wall Street Journal reported that Iranian security officials supposedly "helped plan Hamas's Saturday [Oct. 7] surprise attack on Israel and gave the green light for the assault at a meeting in Beirut [in Lebanon]."

But later reports from U.S. officials note that the Pentagon does not have any specific evidence linking Tehran to the initial attacks led by Hamas. Nevertheless, this did not stop government officials from blaming Iran due to its prior links to Hamas.

"Make no mistake, there's a degree of complicity here just because Iran's been supporting Hamas now for many, many years [with] weapons, tools capabilities, training," said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. "So, clearly, Iran – there's complicity here. But in terms of the specific series of attacks we have seen … we just don't have direct evidence."

Reports from Reuters and the New York Times suggest that the U.S. has collected multiple pieces of intelligence showing that key Iranian leaders did not know that Hamas was planning a large-scale attack and were actually caught by surprise.

Despite no clear link, one U.S. intelligence official who spoke with Reuters on condition of anonymity suggested that the closest concrete intelligence the Pentagon has suggests that Iran may have been aware that Hamas was planning to take some kind of smaller and limited action against Israel. U.S. intelligence agencies are also allegedly still intent on digging up any kind of information to suggest a concrete link between Iran and recent hostilities.

"We will be looking at additional intelligence in the coming weeks to inform our thinking on this issue, including whether there were at least some within [Iran's] system that either had a clearer sense of what was coming or even contributed to aspects of the planning," said the official.

Watch this clip of Sen. Lindsey Graham threatening to "blow up" Iranian oil supplies if Tehran is drawn into the conflict with Israel.

This video is from the News Clips channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

WSJ says Iran helped Hamas plot attack on Israel "over several weeks;" Israel eager to start BOMBING Iran.

Iran leader Khamenei uses X to hail Hamas terror attack that killed 1,000+ … But Alex Jones still BANNED.

Warmongers start push for U.S. involvement in Iran following Hamas attack.

WSJ: Iran helped Hamas plan its surprise attack on Israel, shortly after Biden handed them $6 billion.

Sources include:

Politico.com

TimesOfIsrael.com

PBS.org

Reuters.com

Brighteon.com



Take Action:
Support NewsTarget by linking to this article from your website.
Permalink to this article:
Copy
Embed article link:
Copy
Reprinting this article:
Non-commercial use is permitted with credit to NewsTarget.com (including a clickable link).
Please contact us for more information.
Free Email Alerts
Get independent news alerts on natural cures, food lab tests, cannabis medicine, science, robotics, drones, privacy and more.

NewsTarget.com © 2022 All Rights Reserved. All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. NewsTarget.com is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. NewsTarget.com assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published on this site. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.

This site uses cookies
News Target uses cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy.
Learn More
Close
Get 100% real, uncensored news delivered straight to your inbox
You can unsubscribe at any time. Your email privacy is completely protected.