Shooting down a U.S. RQ-4A Global Hawk surveillance drone today in international airspace over the Persian Gulf, Iran looks to provoke 73-year-old Donald Trump into a response. Already viewed at war with the U.S., Iran’s 59-year-old, U.S.-educated Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said June 11 that Iran doesn’t make a distinction between “economic war” and a shooting war. Zarif, who negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA] with former Secretary of State John Kerry for nearly two years singing the deal July 15, 2015, put the U.S. on notice that Iran considers itself at war with the U.S. When Trump cancelled U.S. involvement in the JCPOA May 8, 2018, Iran has been beating the war drums. Trump cancelled the so-called “Iranian Nuke Deal,” designed to suspend Iran’s uranium enrichment program, because Tehran would not stop its proxy war against Saudi Arabia.
Whether admitted to or not by Iran, it supplies Yemen’s Houthi rebels with guided missiles and predator drones to attack Saudi Arabia. Trump couldn’t justify staying in the Iranian Nuke Deal without seeing Iran cease-and-desist its proxy war with Saudi Arabia. Iran also supplies arms-and-cash to Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah terrorists in Beirut to periodically attack Israel. Taken together, Iran’s malign activities in the Mideast and North Africa demanded that Trump exit the Iran Nuke Deal and re-apply U.S. economic sanctions. Trump’s sanctions have damaged the Iranian economy and driven its Rial currency to unprecedented lows. All in all, Zarif said it best that Iran considers itself at war with the U.S. When you add to that, recent attacks on tankers in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, it shows Iran already considers itself at war with the U.S.
Today’s shoot-down of a U.S. Air Force RQ-4A Global Hawk, it represents a provocative attack on the U.S. military. Only yesterday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC] Chief Hossin Salami warned the U.S. that he had the guided missile capability to take down the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln carrier strike force anywhere in the Gulf. Today’s surface-to-air strike on the U.S. surveillance drone sends a shot-across-the bow warning the U.S. military that things could get worse. “Iran made a very big mistake,” Trump said today at a joint White House press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Calling it “an unprovoked attack,” Trump reassured U.S. allies that the RQ-4A flew at least 20 miles from Iranian airspace. Trump tried to downplay the incident suggesting that “a general or somebody” acting “loose and stupid,” shot down the U.S. military asset.
Telling reporters “we’ll see what happens,” Trump used strategic ambiguity to put Iran on notice that he reserves the right at his own choosing to respond to Iran’s aggression. Members of Congress meeting in the White House Situation Room cautioned Trump about a dangerous escalation. Democrats blamed Trump for canceling the Iranian Nuke Deal, setting up the current belligerent atmosphere. Yet Democrats haven’t come to grips with Iran’s proxy war against Saudi Arabia, forcing the president’s hand when it came to re-imposing punitive U.S. economic sanctions. Iran’s 70-year-old President Hassan Rouhani warned the U.S. that Iran would break the Iranian Nuke Deal and exceed limits of uranium hexaflouride gas after July 7. Trump said the U.S. would respond to any attempt by Iran to actively seek an A-bomb, despite all the denials about Iran’s nuclear enrichment program.
Meeting in the situation room today with his Cabinet and key members of Congress, Trump refused to say what he was considering in the way of a response to today’s drone shoot-down. “We do not have any intention for war with any country, but we are fully ready for war,” said IRGC Chief Hossein Salami. Salami said yesterday that Trump should think twice about attacking Iran because its guided missile capability. Salami wasn’t happy April 8 when Trump designated the IRGC as a terror group, prompting today’s attack. U.S. military officials confirmed that Iran shot a missile and mussed a surveillance drone last week. Hitting one today prompted cheers from Iranians when they found out about today’s successful strike. Salami insisted that Iran defended its borders from U.S. encroachment by the RQ-4 predator drone, despite U.S. proof that it flew only in international airspace.
Telling Iran they “made a big mistake,” the ball’s now in Trump’s court for how he chooses to respond. Trump promised to keep international shipping lanes open in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, using U.S. assets to bring it about. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned about a “catastrophe for the region as a minimum,” showing no sympathy for the loss of a U.S. Air Force asset. Putin threatened war when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan when Turkey shot down of a Russian Sukhoi-24 fighter jet Nov. 24, 2015, killing the pilot after ejecting. Shooting down the RQ-4 Global Hawk today, Putin offered no suggestions for defusing tensions. “Avoid any action that could inflame the situation,” said U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, taking no sides. Clearly, Trump’s must decide what comes next when it comes to the U.S. military sending Iran a clear message.
