(National Review) Seth J. Frantzman - Tehran's answer to the U.S. "maximum pressure" campaign is a policy that seeks to evict the U.S. from the Middle East and stir up trouble for Washington worldwide. In the Persian Gulf, it twice struck at foreign oil tankers over the summer, shot down a high-tech U.S. drone in late June, and launched drone and cruise-missile attacks on key Saudi oil facilities in September. It is also seeking to use its terrorist proxies in Gaza to provoke Israel into a wider regional war. In Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic now hopes to push the U.S. out by whatever means are necessary and fill the resulting power vacuum. In Iraq, it hopes its allies in parliament and among various Shiite militias will force the U.S. to withdraw; militia mortar and rocket attacks have hit U.S. bases in the country every month since May. In Syria, Iran-backed militias would like to grab the oil facilities that the U.S. is currently protecting. In Lebanon, Iran's proxy Hizbullah wants control over the choice of the country's next prime minister.
2019-12-06 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive