US Movements Aim to Pressure Iran, Prepare for Potential Strike: Col. Dahouk
As the US and Iran are heading for a sixth round of talks on Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program next Sunday in Oman, the US President, Donald Trump, expressed doubt over reaching an agreement, although he had not given Israel a green light to strike Iran.
Moreover, the US arranged the departure of non-essential personnel from locations around the Middle East, citing heightened security risks in the region.
These developments have raised questions about whether these moves aim to pressure Iran or represent real preparations for a military action against Tehran.
Pressure or Strike?
In the light of this, the Former Senior Military Advisor to US Department of State, Colonel (Ret.) Abbas Dahouk, said that the reasons behind these moves are to “prepare for a strike against Iran and pressure the Iranian regime to reach a diplomatic solution.”
Speaking to Al-Arabiya, Dahouk said they aim to put pressure on Tehran ahead of the Oman talks on Sunday. Meanwhile, the readiness level is high as “both the US and Israel are preparing the region for either a unilateral action by Israel or an action supported by the US.”
At the same time, “if Iran decided to respond by targeting any US military presence in the region, they reduce the American footprint in the region to ensure minimizing the damage,” he noted.
US Military Bases
Amid concerns that the US might use its military bases in the region to strike Iran, Col. Dahouk said that in case of a potential strike against Iran’s nuclear program and sites, even the ballistic missiles in Iran, “most military assets will likely come from Israel.”
He added that if the US took part in these attacks, “these strategic assets will likely come directly from the US to strike Iran and return directly to the US. Therefore, there is no need to use the military bases in the region.”
However, “if Iran responded by striking any of these US bases, the US will sure escalate and use some of its assets in the region, whether in the UAE or Qatar,” Col. Dahouk warned.
US Involvement
When asked about the possibility of Israel embroiling the US in an attack against Iran, Col. Dahouk said that “this is still up in the air.” He noted that the nuclear talks are not related to just Iran.
“Israel and the US are also negotiating Tehran’s nuclear program. Trump clearly said that Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. The Israeli government insists there must not be any enrichment and the entire program must be dismantled,” he said.
“Both countries are not in agreement and Iran is stuck between them. If the upcoming round of talks did not yield a solution – and we heard Trump saying that Iran has become more aggressive – he would not wait longer,” he added.
“In this case, Trump will tell Israel to use the military option to know if Iran will reach a compromise. It is still unknown and we should note that Israel is a sovereign state and Trump could say that this was a completely Israeli decision and they have the right to do what is good for their national security interests,” Col. Dahouk said.
