Soleimani anniversary: Gulf concerned over ‘war of words’ between Tehran and Washington

Eslam Mohamed

With the first anniversary of the assassination of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, the Arab Gulf region is witnessing a major escalation in the military build-up on the part of the United States and Iran.

These moves come with the escalation of verbal exchanges between the two parties, as many Iranian officials issued statements threatening revenge for Washington’s assassination of the Quds Force commander a year ago.

CNN quoted an American official as saying that the Iranian navy has recently increased its readiness in the Gulf, although the nature of these moves is unclear.

The unnamed American official, who is familiar with the latest intelligence information, said that the Iranian forces have raised their levels of readiness in recent days, noting that it is not clear whether the Iranian movements are defensive because they are expecting a possible American attack, or whether the Iranians are preparing for operations in the Gulf against the United States.

One of the main indications for this is that a number of Iranian military ships are no longer in the port but at sea, the official said.

According to CNN, “the official refused to give specific details about the Iranian moves due to the sensitivity of the situation, so he does not know publicly the extent of the increasing breadth of preparedness, or Iranian intentions.”

The United States currently has several warships in the Arabian Gulf capable of launching Tomahawk missiles, and there are 40,000 to 50,000 American soldiers deployed throughout the region, but many of them are not in direct combat roles, CNN added.

Acting US Defense Secretary Christopher Miller announced that Washington had decided to withdraw the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz from the Middle East.

In an increase in the level of tensions between Washington and Tehran, the latter notified international inspectors that it was about to start producing uranium at a much higher level of enrichment at its Fordo facility, which is located deep in the mountains, where it is difficult to attack. This is considered a red flag for US President Donald Trump, which may push him to revive plans to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities – a decision that was about to be taken recently and was then reversed at the last minute.

This comes as Yahya Rahim Safavi, advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said that his country hopes that nothing will happen in the region until Trump leaves power.

He considered that the Americans are concerned about the anniversary of the assassination of Soleimani, for fear of carrying out military operations, and that the Iranian forces could sink the American aircraft carriers within hours, he claimed.

Current commander of the Quds Force, Esmail Ghaani, threatened terrorist operations inside the United States and said that the killing of Soleimani in an American attack would not deter Tehran from the resistance in light of the escalation of tensions as the first anniversary of the drone strike by the United States approaches.