The Pentagon has increased its presence in the Middle East in an apparent counter to rising Iranian activity around the one year anniversary of the death of Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Politico reported Monday that US President Donald Trump overruled acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller on Sunday when he ordered the USS Nimitz, a supercarrier of the US Navy, to remain in the Persian Gulf, despite previously being instructed to return home to Naval Station Everett in Washington amid heightened tensions with Iran.
The move came shortly after Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s judiciary chief, announced that Soleimani’s murderers would be brought to justice. The Iranian general was killed near Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020, during an airstrike authorized by Trump.
Satellite imagery recently released by US-based company Planet Labs showed what appeared to be so-called “cluster” activity by IRGC vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Two former Mossad chiefs and a former national security council chief recently spoke with The Jerusalem Post and argued that any action taken by Tehran to avenge Solemani would likely not occur until after the inauguration of US President-elect Joe Biden on January 20.
He also went on to suggest that Esmail Ghaani, the current commander of the Quds Force, is not on par with Soleimani in terms of leadership.
“Some say they are not useful because one goes and the next one comes into line and replaces him… the level of talent of the one who entered his [Soleimani’s] shoes disproves that argument,” Shavit argued, stressing the importance of bracing for a possible retaliatory attack.
“We must take into account that they will respond. They will wait for an opportunity to attack a high-quality target.”
Soleimani was killed in a drone attack ordered by President Donald Trump himself on 3 January 2020. The Trump administration claimed they had evidence of Soleimani planning attacks against American embassies in the region, but failed to provide any to the public.
Several days later, Iran retaliated by carrying out airstrikes against two Iraqi military bases that hosted US troops. The attack resulted in no deaths, but brought minor injuries to several American servicemen.
However, in November, Hossein Dehghan, Iran’s former defence minister-turned adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called the January missile attack only an “initial slap” of revenge.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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