{"id":372,"date":"2020-02-21T07:28:57","date_gmt":"2020-02-21T13:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/?p=372"},"modified":"2020-03-16T23:47:39","modified_gmt":"2020-03-17T04:47:39","slug":"372","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/2020\/02\/21\/372\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Yes, Iran is responsible.\u00a0 This open source reporting is what the intelligence agencies have already known almost from day one.\u00a0 \u201cComponents link Iran to drone attacks in eight countries,\u201d<\/a> Seth Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, February 20, 2020.\u00a0\u00a0And similar, \u201cDrone component ties Iran to Saudi oil attacks, watchdog says,\u201d<\/a> Don Jacobson, UPI, February 19, 2020.<\/p>\n

This is one of those helpful stories\u2014Is Iran changing its tune?\u00a0 Recalibrating?\u00a0 An alteration in tactics, not strategy?\u00a0 \u201cBennett Says Israel Is Seeing \u2018First Signs\u2019 of Iran Rethinking Its Syria Strategy,\u201d<\/a> JNS.org, Algemeiner, February 19, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran’s New Cruise Missiles Are Not What They Appear To Be,\u201d<\/a> Michael Peck, The National Interest, February 19, 2020.<\/p>\n

This goes back to the recent news that John Kerry (again) met FM Zarif, along with several Dem senators.\u00a0 Obviously not for \u201cpublic diplomacy\u201d\u2014they didn\u2019t announce their meeting ahead of time\u2014they would have been roundly criticized and perhaps it wouldn\u2019t have happened.\u00a0 Logan Act violation?\u00a0 Probably not, but still troubling because of their inconsistent policy aims not only at odds with the present Administration but also against the aim to draw Iran away from its Revolutionary and terroristic impulses.\u00a0 \u201cIran says Zarif met with US senator for \u2018public diplomacy\u2019,\u201d<\/a> Al-Monitor, February 19, 2020.<\/p>\n

In the Holy City, no less.\u00a0 \u201cIran Takes Emergency Measures After Two Coronavirus Deaths in Qom,\u201d<\/a> Aresu Eqbali and Sune Engel Rasmussen, Wall Street Journal, February 20, 2020.<\/p>\n

Of course it is damaged (they now tell us, weeks later), they\u2019ve been trying to open it and manipulate it.\u00a0 \u201cIran Says Black Box of Ukrainian Airliner Is Damaged, Further Delaying Investigation,\u201d<\/a> Sune Engel Rasmussen, Wall Street Journal, February 19, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cU.S. Says Iran Continues To Smuggle ‘Advanced Weapons’ To Huthis In Yemen,\u201d<\/a> RFE\/RL, February 20, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran elections to be dominated by hard-liners as young people refuse to vote: \u2018It\u2019s a joke\u2019,\u201d<\/a> Natasha Turak, CNBC, February 19, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran ends week-long parliamentary election campaign,\u201d<\/a> Reuters, February 19, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cU.S. blacklists five Iranian officials for impeding ‘fair’ elections,\u201d<\/a> Daphne Psaledakis, Humeyra Pamuk, Reuters, February 20, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cNaftali Bennett: To stop Gaza terrorism, focus on Iran and Syria,\u201d<\/a> Jerusalem Post, Tzvi Joffre, February 20, 2020.<\/p>\n

To be fair, this headline is misleading.\u00a0 This article does not discuss what the Pentagon thinks.\u00a0 Second, arms transfers are months in the making.\u00a0 It is too early to determine Soleimani’s absence on arms flows.\u00a0 Regardless, we don’t think Iran is going to stop just because he was stopped?\u00a0 No, it takes more than that.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cPentagon: Death of Soleimani has not stemmed Iranian arms smuggling,\u201d<\/a> Abraham Mahshie, Washington Examiner, February 20, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cTerror in South America: Iran and Hezbollah threaten the region, insiders say,\u201d<\/a> Abraham Mahshie, Washington Examiner, February 21, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlobal watchdog set to sanction Iran for financing terrorism, in blow to the country,\u201d<\/a> Zachary Halaschak, Washington Examiner, February 20, 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, Iran is responsible.\u00a0 This open source reporting is what the intelligence agencies have already known almost from day one.\u00a0 \u201cComponents link Iran to drone attacks in eight countries,\u201d Seth Frantzman, Jerusalem Post, February 20, 2020.\u00a0\u00a0And similar, \u201cDrone component ties Iran to Saudi oil attacks, watchdog says,\u201d Don Jacobson, UPI, February 19, 2020. This is … <\/p>\n

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