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Recent anti-Iran claims meant to weigh Iran down: Analyst

Wednesday, 18 September 2019 8:33 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 18 September 2019 8:46 AM ]

Smoke is seen at an Aramco facility in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia, on September 14, 2019. (Photo by Reuters)

A political commentator says the United States’ move to falsely blame Iran for the recent attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities is in line with Washington’s policy of containing Iranian power and influence.

Michael Springmann, a Washington-based author and former US diplomat in Saudi Arabia, made the remarks on Press TV’s The Debate show on Tuesday.

“American policy, Saudi policy, and Israeli policy is simply to stop, block, ruin, or wreck the economy and political influence of Iran. They feel that they can get away with this [recent episode] because they probably have the means of communication in the West [to do so],” he said.

He noted that, by blaming Iran for the attacks — claimed by the Yemeni military — US President Donald Trump “has dragged himself into a position where he can’t possibly get out of with grace and with dignity.” As a result, he said, Trump will have to continue to bluster.

PressTV-Iran rejects US ‘lies’ about Yemen raids on Saudi oil sites

Tehran dismisses Washington's claim of involvement in the recent Yemeni drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities, saying the accusation is part of a new campaign of deceit.

Springmann also said Saudi Arabia’s sophisticated weapons systems had failed, despite all their advanced capabilities, to stop Yemeni attacks deep inside Saudi territory.

“The Saudis have bought billions of dollars [of arms] from the United States, from Britain, from France, and from Germany, and all these wonder weapons of 21^st-century technology could not defend against this asymmetric attack... they penetrated the Saudi defenses and their sophisticated radar systems,” he said.

Jonathan Fryer, an author and a broadcaster from London and the other guest on the show, described the current situation as “escalating.”

“It is interesting that [US Secretary of State] Mike Pompeo is on his way to Saudi Arabia,” he said. “Obviously, President Trump and Mike Pompeo are trying to use the incident for propaganda purposes, but the Europeans, particularly the French and Germans, have been very clear that, ‘We should not try to blame anyone at the moment,’ and what needs to happen is the de-escalation and what is alarming is the escalating situation.”

Fryer also called the Saudi-led war on Yemen “an international disgrace.”

“It is a tragedy that apparently the White House and the Trump administration in general find no problem in backing this merciless war,” he said.

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