Iran readying massive military exercise in Persian Gulf, officials say

 

Washington (CNN)Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard is expected to soon begin a major naval exercise that could demonstrate its ability to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial conduit for global energy supplies, US officials say.

The exercise in the Persian Gulf could begin as soon as the next two days, according to two US officials directly familiar with the latest assessment of the Revolutionary Guard’s troop movements.

US May Open Path For Saudi Arabia To Acquire Nuclear Weapons

The U.S. is in a catch-22. Either step in, and in some sort of restricted way, help the Saudis build a nuclear program, or allow the Russians and Chinese to fill the vacuum in giving the Kingdom a path to nuclear weapons. The latter would likely mean the end of a U.S.-Saudi alliance and see relations in Riyadh shift to the Moscow-Beijing axis.

This isn’t the first bit of news regarding Saudi Arabia’s quest for nuclear weapons, either. Saudi Arabia has always seeked nuclear weapons as a hedge against Iran. In doing so under a low profile, Saudi Arabia has financed Pakistan’s nuclear program in exchange for technology transfer should the need arise to acquire them one day.

Allowing for Iran to proliferate opened the gates to Saudi proliferation, which will without a doubt, pave the way for other nations in the region to acquire. In the end, you can’t say you weren’t warned of the consequences.

More information can be found in the following previous posts:

Saudi Nuclear Weapons ‘on order’ from Pakistan

Saudi Arabia Says it Won’t Rule Out Building Nuclear Weapons

Saudi Arabia to Extract Uranium for ‘Sel-Sufficient’ Nuclear Program

Fallout from Iran ‘nuclear deal’: Saudis becoming ‘more active’ in developing WMD

Iran’s rising influence raises Saudi eyebrows

Saudi prince: Getting nukes an option if Iran breaks deal

Saudi Arabia Versus Iran

Saudi Arabia Admits it Has NUCLEAR BOMBS; Will Test Within Weeks!

Is Saudi Arabia building an ‘Islamic NATO?’

As Predicted, the Iran Deal Has Begun to Wreck Global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Efforts

Saudi Arabia to buy nuclear bombs from Pakistan: report

Saudis to warn Obama they will match Iran’s nuke buildup

 

Nuclear weapons [file photo]

 

Saudi Arabia is moving swiftly to become the next country in the Middle East with nuclear power. The Kingdom is on the verge of striking a deal with the US for the purchase of nuclear reactors despite concerns over its refusal to accept stringent restrictions against the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

U.S. carrier confronts two sets of fast boats in Strait of Hormuz

Iranian fast-attack boats. /Getty Images/File

 

A U.S. aircraft carrier on March 21 deployed helicopter gunships to track two sets of Iranian fast-attack vessels during a confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. Navy said.

Navy commanders told Reuters the USS George H.W. Bush confronted the Iranian boats after they approached a U.S.-led, five-vessel flotilla as it entered the Strait, Reuters reported.

Saudis’ upcoming trip to China sends strong signal to US

© Getty Images

 

King Salman Bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia is leading an entourage, including 25 senior princes and 10 ministers, to China later this month, part of a month-long tour of the Asia-Pacific, as the kingdom is seeking to hedge against an unpredictable and divided White House.

While it yearns for a renewed American role in the Middle East and reassurances from President Trump that Riyadh remains an ally, Saudi Arabia now faces a period of uncertainty due to the unpredictability of Trump’s foreign policy stance. That reason alone could explain why a trip to Beijing was planned before a trip to Washington.

Despite its efforts at economic diversification, Saudi Arabia will remain dependent on oil exports for a long time, and China provides the kingdom with a stable market for its energy exports for decades to come.

Iran pushes for Saudi isolation in the Gulf amid military buildup in Hormuz

Two landmark events in the Persian Gulf this week attested to Tehran’s confidence that it has escaped the threat of a military clash with the US and Israel over its nuclear program – certainly in the Persian Gulf. By the same token, Iran is no longer threatening to block the Straits of Hormuz to Gulf oil exports in reprisal for this attack.

One of those events, as noted by debkafile’s military and Gulf sources, is the rapid détente between Tehran and the United Arab Emirates. Tuesday, Dec. 10, unnamed Gulf officials announced that Iran and the UAE were close to an agreement for the return to the Emirates of three Iranian-occupied islands in the Arabian Gulf.

The other event was the conspicuous absence of Oman’s Sultan Qaboos from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit taking place in Kuwait this week.

China betting on overland energy-supply lines

SINGAPORE – China’s strategy to diversify supply routes for its rapidly rising energy imports has just taken a major step forward.

On July 15, natural gas from Myanmar (aka Burma) started to flow along a recently completed pipeline that stretches for 1,100 kilometers from the sea coast, through jungle and mountains, to Kunming in southwest China.

There it will feed into other gas lines supplying homes, industries and power plants generating electricity in the world’s biggest energy user.

Bahrain MP calls for Gulf Army

A Bahraini MP says she looks forward to a unified Gulf Army as a prelude to the Gulf Union. Sawsan Al Taqawi was speaking on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

“As we celebrate this glorious anniversary, we look forward to more accelerated paces towards moving from the stage of cooperation to the long due stage of unity,” MP Sawsan said. “The unity is a vision shared by the leaders and people of the Gulf and the GCC should achieve it in order to fulfil the aspirations and anticipations of the region,” she said.