Iran warns the world about Donnie-boy's false-flag plot

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Trump plotting false flag to 'fabricate pretext' for attack on Iran, Foreign Minister Zarif says
https://www.rt.com/news/511269-zarif-warns-trump-false-flag/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has claimed "intelligence from Iraq" suggests the US is plotting to "fabricate" a reason to wage war on Iran. Stressing Tehran "doesn't seek war," he warned such a scam will be met with force.

Accusing US President Donald Trump and his cabinet of "wast[ing] billions" to surround Iran with air and naval military assets while Americans are suffering with Covid-19, Zarif revealed in a tweet on Thursday that Iraqi intelligence had tipped off Tehran to a US "plot to FABRICATE pretext for war."

https://twitter.com/JZarif/status/1344619249214627842?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1344619249214627842%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rt.com%2Fnews%2F511269-zarif-warns-trump-false-flag%2F

"Iran doesn't seek war but will OPENLY & DIRECTLY defend its people, security & vital interests," the diplomat continued.

Tensions between the two countries are running exceptionally high due to the approaching anniversary of the US assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, the Quds Force leader killed in an airstrike in Baghdad on January 3.

While Iran retaliated at the time by striking two US bases in Iraq, allegedly causing brain injuries in an uncertain number of soldiers stationed there, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei renewed calls for "revenge" earlier this month, adding that Iranians should not "forget enmities" with the US government, no matter who is serving as president.

The US sent two B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf earlier this week in a show of force, triggering outrage from Tehran. A military adviser to the Ayatollah reminded Washington that "all their military bases are covered by our missiles" and urged Trump not to "turn the New Year into mourning for Americans." Another military officer warned that the US would meet a "crushing and fiery response" if the planes breached the country's airspace.

The US has attempted to pin numerous apparent false flag attacks on Iran under the Trump administration, from the mysterious holes appearing in Saudi and Japanese oil tankers to the endless stream of rockets landing in Baghdad's Green Zone that have an uncanny knack for coming to rest in unpopulated spaces. Trump's financial backers for both the 2020 and 2016 elections were dominated by rabid Iran hawks, and the president's 'failure' to start a war with their favorite bogeyman is no doubt weighing on the White House.

While Trump withdrew the US from the JCPOA nuclear deal in 2018, not merely reimposing sanctions but actually adopting new ones, Washington's efforts to bend the other signatories to its will had mixed results. Insisting that Iran hold tight to the terms of a deal to which the US was no longer a part of, the White House didn't get many takers.

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'Naval BOMB' prone to 'sudden explosion' found on hull of Iraqi tanker as Iran warns US may use false-flag attack to start war
https://www.rt.com/news/511348-bomb-iraqi-tanker-iran/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome

Explosives experts were called in to defuse a naval mine found attached to the hull of an oil tanker as it departed an Iraqi port, prompting an evacuation of the ship's crew amid simmering tension in the Gulf.

Iraqi authorities confirmed the discovery on Friday morning through the semi-official Security Media Cell Twitter account, saying a "foreign body" was spotted on the vessel as it entered international waters in the Persian Gulf on Thursday afternoon, some 28 nautical miles (52km) off Iraq's coast.

"Immediately a team for handling explosives was formed from the Ministry of Interior," the Security Cell continued, adding that the team was "still working to neutralize the mine and evacuate the target ship, and our naval forces are making a great effort with the bomb team to accomplish this mission."

The tanker, rented from Iraq's government-run Oil Marketing Company (SOMO), was in the area to refuel another vessel, which was successfully evacuated after the bomb was found.

Another security source who spoke with Reuters on condition of anonymity said the sea mine is "complicated" and has "sensors that could cause a sudden explosion," adding that the bomb squad had never handled a device of that kind. "We asked for further assistance from a more professional bombs team," he said.

The confirmation from Baghdad came one day after two private security firms – Ambrey Intelligence and Dryad Global – said that sailors feared that they had found a "limpet mine" on a Liberian-flagged ship in the Persian Gulf. Another private intelligence outfit, Aurora Intel, shared unverified photos and footage purporting to show the mine affixed to the tanker's hull, also posting satellite imagery of the two vessels at sea.

https://twitter.com/AuroraIntel/status/1344651904622723072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1344651904622723072%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rt.com%2Fnews%2F511348-bomb-iraqi-tanker-iran%2F

The UK's Marine Trade Operations, part of the British Royal Navy, similarly reported the discovery of a limpet mine, urging other ships that sailed in the area to conduct hull checks. A spokesperson from the US Navy's Middle East-based 5th Fleet, meanwhile, said it was monitoring the incident, according to the Associated Press.

It remains unclear who was behind the apparent mining attempt, with no party taking responsibility. Washington, however, has repeatedly blamed Iran for similar incidents in the past, including a series of mine attacks on tankers stationed in and around the Persian Gulf in the summer of 2019. Tehran has emphatically denied the allegations.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif claimed on Thursday that "intelligence from Iraq" suggested that the US was plotting to "fabricate a pretext for war," around the time early reports emerged about the naval mine. The FM vowed that Iran would "openly and directly" defend its people, though insisted his country does not seek conflict.





'Beware of trap': Iranian FM warns Trump 'Israeli agents' are preparing 'attacks' on US forces in Iraq to spark war against Tehran
https://www.rt.com/news/511376-israel-iraq-attack-zarif-trump/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has accused Israel of plotting false flag attacks on Americans in Iraq in a bid to frame Iran and prompt Washington start an all-out war with Tehran.

Zarif on Saturday tagged Donald Trump on Twitter – the US president's social media of choice – as he repeated the claim of a false flag plot.

New intelligence from Iraq indicate that Israeli agent-provocateurs are plotting attacks against Americans – putting an outgoing Trump in a bind with a fake casus belli. 

The foreign minister then warned Trump against falling for the alleged Israeli plot. He said that any hostilities against Tehran will backfire not only for Washington but also for its chief ally in the Middle East.

"Be careful of a trap, [President Trump]. Any fireworks will backfire badly, particularly against your same BFFs," Zarif wrote.

Iran's top diplomat first brought up the topic of an allegedly impending false flag attack earlier this week.

On Thursday, he revealed Tehran had received a tip about such a plan brewing from Iraqi intelligence. While Zarif did not name a culprit behind the alleged plot, the tone of his message suggested that the US itself was actively seeking a pretext for war with Iran. He scolded Trump for flying B-52s and sending "armadas" to the Gulf region "instead of fighting Covid in [the] US."

The already hostile relations between Tehran and Washington have reached a boiling point recently due to the upcoming anniversary of the US assassination of Qassem Soleimani. The late Iranian general and leader of the elite Quds force within the country's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) was killed in a drone strike outside Baghdad, Iraq on January 3 last year.

While Iran retaliated shortly after the attack by striking several military installations housing US troops in Iraq, it has repeatedly pledged to extract further revenge on the Americans. Late in December, shortly after a rocket attack on the US embassy in Baghdad, Trump vowed to hold Iran responsible for the potential death of any American in Iraq.

Iran's top officials openly cheered Trump's election defeat in November, with President Hassan Rouhani stating his US counterpart was just days apart from going into the "dustbin of history."

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Israel rejects 'nonsense' claim by Tehran that it's plotting false flag attack to drag US & Iran into war
https://www.rt.com/news/511410-israel-zarif-iran-attack-us-war-denial/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome

Israel has dismissed allegations leveled by Tehran that it is trying to trigger a war between the US and Iran, adding that it was worried for its own security on the anniversary of the assassination of Qassem Soleimani.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's claim that Israel was plotting attacks on US forces in Iraq in order to spark a military conflict in the region was "total nonsense," Israel's Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Sunday. According to Steinitz, it was Israel that needed to be on guard for possible Iranian strikes.

The energy minister said Zarif's remarks served as a "warning sign that Iran is taking aim at Israel, is looking for excuses to lash out at Israel, and therefore we need to have our finger on the pulse and be at the highest state of alert."

Tehran has vowed retaliatory actions as the country commemorates Soleimani, commander of Iran's elite Quds Force, who was killed one year ago today in a US drone strike near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq.

Zarif tagged US President Donald Trump in a tweet on Saturday in which he said that "new intelligence" from Iraq suggested that Israeli agents were planning to launch attacks against Americans in the country, putting the US leader "in a bind with a fake casus belli."

He urged Trump not to fall for the "trap" and warned that "any fireworks will backfire badly."

The top Iranian diplomat made similar claims on Thursday, but did not name the culprit behind the alleged plot.

Iran launched several missile attacks on Iraqi bases housing US troops following the assassination of Soleimani, but the Islamic Republic has stepped up its rhetoric about further retaliation on the first anniversary of his death. The United States has already pulled some diplomatic staff and military forces out of the region as a precautionary measure. Trump has signaled that he will hold Tehran responsible if "one American is killed" in Iraq.

There has already been at least one suspicious incident amid the heightened tensions. On Friday, Iraqi authorities confirmed the discovery of a naval mine found attached to the hull of an oil tanker as it departed an Iraqi port. Iraq's semi-official Security Media Cell said that a "foreign body" was spotted on the vessel as it entered international waters in the Persian Gulf on Thursday afternoon.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyTzMFVq0nY