The Israel lobby in the United States is pushing the administration of President Donald Trump to launch a military conflict against Iran amid Washington’s escalating tensions with Tehran, says an American writer and former professor.
“This war is being orchestrated by a group of people, the Israel lobby, for the benefit of Israel,” said E Michael Jones, the current editor of Culture Wars magazine.
“The American people have no benefit whatsoever from this war and they’re not buying it,” Jones said Tuesday in an interview with Press TV.
He added the Trump administration is using similar lies used by the administration of former President George W. Bush to justify the wars against Iraq and Afghanistan.
“How do we know that these people aren't using this as a pretext to create another war in the Middle East?” he asked.
Trump and his hawkish foreign policy advisers such as John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have been stepping up pressure against Iranians in the wake of Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.
Trump has also tightened economic sanctions against Tehran and blacklisted the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
US Senator Lindsey Graham, a long-time war hawk, accused Iran on Monday of carrying out the recent attacks on oil pipelines and tankers around the Persian Gulf, and warned Tehran to expect "an overwhelming military response" if it harms US interests in the Middle East region.
The cause of the explosions at the oil facilities has not been ascertained and there has been no claim of responsibility, but speculations range from drone or missile attacks from Yemen, to possible dropping of bombs by US forces to ignite tensions in the region.
According to some independent analysts, the attacks on oil installations and tankers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE were a false flag operation carried out by US intelligence agencies in order to start another conflict in the Middle East.