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US continues to provoke Iran into war: Analyst

Tuesday, 05 January 2021 3:09 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 05 January 2021 3:45 PM ]

Daniel Kovalik, academic at the University of Pittsburgh

The United States continues to provoke Iran into a war, and that is the goal of Washington and Israel, an American author and political analyst says.

Daniel Kovalik, an academic at the University of Pittsburgh, made the remarks in a phone interview with Press TV on Tuesday after the United States reversed a decision to bring an aircraft carrier home from the Persian Gulf, claiming the decision was due to "recent threats" from Iranian officials.

On December 31, acting US defense secretary Christopher C. Miller ordered the USS Nimitz, which has been patrolling Persian Gulf waters since late November, to "transit directly home to complete a nearly 10-month deployment."

Citing US officials then, The New York Times said the move was part of a "de-escalatory" signal to Iran in efforts to avert stumbling into a crisis in the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency.

Iran has slammed the new psychological war waged by the outgoing US administration against Tehran, warning that the country will strongly defend its interests in case of any miscalculations by the United States in the region.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Ali Rabiei, the Iranian administration’s spokesman, said Tehran has evidence that some in the US are seeking to trigger a new conflict in West Asia.

“It is very unlikely that the US administration will miscalculate Iran’s resolute intentions as well as its deterrence and retaliation capability. We have made it clear to them that we will not start any war directly or indirectly, but if a blatant mistake is made by the United States, we will defend our security and vital interests with full force,” Rabiei added.

“Well, I'm very concerned by this decision to keep this carrier in the Persian Gulf. I think it shows that the US continues to want to provoke Iran into a war. I'm pretty convinced that that is the goal of both the US and Israel Kovalik told Press TV.

“And I think this decision confirms that for me. I think the goal in the Middle East and West Asia for the United States and Israel, the main goal is to neutralize Iran as a regional power. How that is done? I think it's not clear how that will happen,” he added.

“I think the US will continue massive economic sanctions, and again some sort of military assault. I think, we see some antecedents for this in Iraq and Syria, and Libya. We know that the US is willing to sow chaos and destruction in order to undermine a power such as Iran,” he stated.

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