Senior US military officer says no change seen in Iran behavior

Four months after the “historic” signing of a nuclear pact between world powers and Iran to curb the regime’s dangerous ambitions, the Associated Press reported “there are signs that the Islamic Republic’s attitude toward the United States is as negative as ever”. This “landmark” deal has also taken very little steps to stop Tehran from further pushing its lethal meddling in the broader Middle East, from Iraq to Syria and Yemen to Lebanon.

While the Iranian leader Ali Khamenei may all of a sudden claim the “Death to America” slogan is not targeting the American nation, he has warned against importing simple American made goods. To make things worse, a pro-better relations Iranian-American businessman has been arrested and thrown behind bars in Tehran, adding to the list of US citizens known to be held by the Ayatollahs. All this comes at a time when hardliners are demanding action against the nuclear deal. However, a very dangerous aspect that receives much less attention in the political spectrum and the media involves Iran’s intervention outside of its borders, said the commander of the U.S. naval forces responsible for protecting Arabian Peninsula waters. Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan, leading the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, noted Iran’s actions aimed at smuggling military gear to Yemen and causing mayhem for ships around the Persian Gulf are continuing quite similar to circumstances before the nuclear pact. He describes such measures “malign behavior”, to be simple. Donegan’s naval force is stationed in Bahrain situated very close to Saudi Arabia. This tiny island kingdom itself is a major target of Iran’s meddling as Tehran has escalated attempts of carrying out deadly terror attacks on its soil, again, after the nuclear agreement.

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Donegan is also responsible for securing the strategically important Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf where around a third of the globe’s sea-bound oil passes. Just this September, a navy ship under the 5th Fleet command intercepted a boat with a cargo of anti-tank missiles along with other military equipment, all believed to be from Iran. Concerns continue even after Washington dispatched an aircraft carrier and a guided missile cruiser to the Arabian Sea after worries escalated regarding a convoy of Iranian ships was found to be sending combat vehicles and other major military equipment to the Shiite Houthis in Yemen. As we speak, U.S. Navy ships are continuously facing sporadic harassment measures by Iranian patrol boats, Donegan adds. Iranian navy boats have also at times intercepted commercial ships passing through the very busy Strait of Hormuz, ordering they must raise an Iranian flag to enjoy safe passage. The US currently lacks an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, a first since 2007. However, Donegan emphasized the temporary absence of such US firepower in the region is no sign of America retreating from the region, especially since Iran is increasing its meddling and various ambitions across the Middle East. Therefore, Obama administration officials in Washington should listen carefully to their senior military commanders in the region and take this fact seriously: Iran has no intention of deescalating its meddling in the Middle East or the entire region, and Western governments should actually be more alert than ever before.