Russian TV "Vesti" on the Gulf of Oman incident - "only the Anericans could gain from this"

Russian TV On The Gulf Of Oman Incident: A Classic Provocation

The US has its finger on the trigger, looking for an excuse.

FortRuss,

18 June, 2019

Thomas Römer in Anti-Spiegel

(Translator note:  I began my study of Russian 12 years ago, and though I regularly watch Vesti, I confess that my Russian is simply not good enough to translate direct from hearing. German, however, is a different story: I passed the Graduate Exam in German 54 years ago. So, for me to bring this to FRN readers at all, I resort, thankfully, to Thomas Römer’s German rendering)

The Russian television about the incident in the Gulf of Oman

In the Russian broadcast “News of the Week” Russian television has dealt in detail with the incident in the Gulf of Oman. Unsurprisingly, it is clear to Russian television that the USA has carried out a false flag operation there. In contrast to the German media, the contributions were very worthwhile, so I translated them.

First came the introduction from the studio and then the report of the local correspondent.

Start of translation:

On June 13, two oil tankers, one from Norway and the other from Japan, were hit by explosions in the Gulf of Oman, in the waters between Iran and Oman.

The Americans immediately accused Iran of a torpedo attack. Iran immediately stated that this was a provocation and rejected all allegations. The Americans have stepped up the degree of horror.

On the 14th, Trump directly blamed Iran, presenting a fuzzy video as proof that unknown persons on an unknown boat in the dark are doing something above the waterline of an unknown ship. When the pictures were taken is not known. Maybe 10 years ago. And it’s not clear who filmed it and with what gear. Maybe it’s even stock footage. The US Central Command claims that in the video the Iranian military is removing an unexploded mine from the side of the tanker to cover their tracks.

It is not clear why the Iranian military should take the mine off. Who even attached it? And what proves that it is Iranians in the footage? Absurd, but for the US, this footage is the strongest argument against Iran so far.

Of course, the situation in Bishkek was discussed extensively on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in a bilateral meeting between the Presidents of Russia and Iran. On the eve of the meeting Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned that “premature conclusions that would only pour oil into the fire.”

“I would like to take this opportunity to warn against premature conclusions, especially about attempts to shift responsibility to those who displease a number of states,” said Ryabkov.

Britain, however, quickly sided with the United States. Following the motto “Yes, yes. It was Iran.”

Germany, however, cautiously questioned the American evidence. “The video is not enough. Of course we can understand what is shown there. But it is not enough for me to make a final assessment,” said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

France and also EU External Affairs Commissioner Mogherini spoke in the same vein.

It became clear that in the event of a US attack on Iran, Europe would regard this as aggression. Europe and its NATO allies on the continent clearly do not need this war.

However, it is alarming that it is clear to everyone that the sabotage in the Gulf of Oman is a classic provocation for the beginning of the war.

“News of the Week” has already reported that Trump has sent an armada of seven warships into the region, led by the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. Another missile destroyer, the Mason, with Tomahawks on board, is also on the way. The region is now literally peppered with American tomahawks. The Americans have their finger on the trigger. All they lack is a reason to start a war. Now the occasion has been constructed. This is dangerous.

Our correspondent reports.

This story looks like a provocation that Americans desperately need. The attacks on oil tankers are certainly not in the interest of Tehran and Washington’s evidence reminds us of Powell’s test tube. To construct an excuse for war, Americans have often lied to the world.

After the attack on civilian ships in the Gulf of Oman, the perpetrators were quickly found in Washington. The US President even reported that the magnetic mines found on the hull of one of the affected tankers carry the Iranian signature. How Donald Trump thinks he knows that is not clear: all the alleged evidence that has been presented does not allow such a conclusion.

The Central Military Command has spread the poor quality video widely. The Americans said it was made by a reconnaissance plane. In the recording, some boat approaches an unknown ship, after a short manipulation on the ship’s side, it sails away again. Tehran understandably explains that Washington’s allegations are absurd.

Common sense is on the side of Iran.

Attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, i.e, endangering oil transportation through the Strait of Hormuz, would primarily hit the Iranian economy. The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Gulf of Oman with the Persian Gulf, accounts for one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. And now, given the US sanctions, it is particularly important for Iran to be able to ship its oil to its customers in a stable manner.

Incidentally, one of the ships under attack is Japanese, and the tanker attack took place while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was visiting Iran and meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei. Abe should mediate during the visit between Tehran and Washington to ease the tensions, but against the background of such news, it is clear that the mission was doomed to failure.

The fact that the attack on tankers is only for the Americans is shown by how quickly US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded. He already accused Iran before the Central Command released the video.

“These unprovoked attacks are a threat to international peace and security, an open attack on the freedom of shipping, and an unacceptable campaign to escalate tensions on the side of Iran,” Pompeo said.

The Americans have already used the incident to reinforce their naval group here. Another missile destroyer, Arleigh Burke with cruise missiles on board, was ordered to the region.

Meanwhile, crew members of the tankers evacuated from the ships made statements that destroyed the already fragile American version. The sailors claim that the tankers were attacked from the air. But that is certainly not an Iranian handwriting. Before the attack on the tankers an American reconnaissance and an attack drone flew in the airspace. The Iranian military tried to shoot them with an antiaircraft rocket, but did not hit them. However, these are American statements.

Incidentally, the Iranian military was the first to come to the aid and organized the evacuation of the crew of the tanker Altair. On board were 11 Russian citizens. None of them was injured in the explosion.
Despite Washington’s previous attempts to construct a serious pretext, the allegations can not justify a military operation, but have only raised the level of tension.

In addition, it is now clear that the NATO allies are not united. And that’s already European pragmatism. Europe is generally irritated by the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran, and a military conflict is an extremely unpopular option. But it is possible that there will be new reasons in the near future, and Washington does not like to stay halfway.

End of the translation

https://www.anti-spiegel.ru/2019/das-russische-fernsehen-ueber-den-vorfall-im-golf-von-oman/?fbclid=IwAR27d3a1VB4k3T6e2yCnjlYUUGtE6xH8Ql6u5gg87HLww5rMCktANz3mtLY

Here is the broadcast in original Russian

Нападение на танкеры выгодно лишь американцам

nguage: zxx }

Yakov Kedmi States the Obvious: Why Would Iran Do Something Stupid as Bombing a Japanese Tanker?

Vesti

Yakov Kedmi, social activist (Israel): "The US military lies, blatantly, pushing the entire world and their country towards a new war. Don't rely on their words. Bearing these facts in mind, one should give up this attitude: "Since the US intelligence said that it must be true." Moreover, they can't produce a single piece of evidence that would prove their version of the events."

Alex Jones is being useed to attack the entire alt-media

I really don't have a set opinion on Sandy Hook but I can say one thing: Alex Jones is being used to attack the rest of the alternative media, part of which IS doing a great job at revealing the lies behind many of these attacks.

Jones of course is so bad that he provides an easy target.

Alex Jones Testimony Exposes Pipeline Between Infowars And YouTube, 4Chan

Here is what Australian, Max Igan was saying back in 2013.

Part one

Part two


Part three



Part four

Jake Morphonius weighs in. All his old videos have been removed so I have to wonder what he was saying about this back then, Has he destroyed the traces and now going after the easy target?

Headlines on Syria

Bolton promises ‘much stronger’ response if chemical weapons used in Syria

RT,

11 September, 2018

US national security adviser John Bolton has warned that the US, France and UK will launch a ‘much stronger’ response to any chemical weapons attack in Syria, as the US bolsters its regional military presence in preparation.

"We've tried to convey the message in recent days that if there's a third use of chemical weapons, the response will be much stronger," Bolton told reporters on Monday.

Bolton’s statement comes as tensions around Idlib are rising. Idlib is the last redoubt of terrorist groups including Jabhat al-Nusra and some offshoots of Al Qaeda.

Bolton’s words echo his earlier warnings in August that the US would respond “very strongly” if Assad’s forces were to use chemical weapons in a bit to retake Idlib. Previously, an alleged chemical weapons attack in the town of Douma, 10km north of the capital, Damascus, was used as pretext for American, British, and French airstrikes against Syrian government targets in April, while an attack in the northern city of Khan Shaykhun in 2017 was also blamed on Assad, and triggered a US missile attack in response.

Now, Bolton claims that the US, Britain and France are in agreement that a fresh attack would call for more severe retaliation.

"I can say we've been in consultation with the British and the French, who joined us in the second strike, and they also agree that another use of chemical weapons will result in a much stronger response,” he said on Monday.

The Russian Ministry of Defense warned on Sunday that terrorist groups, including Jabhat Al-Nusra and the infamous White Helmets, are preparing to stage a chemical attack to give the Western coalition a pretext to strike Assad again.

Russia has repeatedly issued the same warning over the past weeks, and has submitted what Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says are “concrete facts” about an impending false-flag chemical attack to the US government, the UN, and the OPCW (Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons). The Russian government claims that chlorine gas canisters have already been put in place in Idlib for use in the attack.

READ MORE: Britain hasn’t stopped ‘funding & directing groups in Syria’ – Middle East expert to RT

As if waiting for such an attack, the US has been bolstering its presence in the region recently. Three US destroyers and four nuclear submarines have been deployed to the eastern Mediterranean, and US forces launched an air-assault exercise in southern Syria backed by artillery fire over the weekend.

In addition, USS ‘The Sullivans,’ armed with 56 cruise missiles, was also sent the Persian Gulf, and B1-B supersonic bombers have been relocated to the US airbase in Qatar earlier this year.

In Washington, President Trump is reportedly in “routine dialog” with the Pentagon over his military options in Syria, while the US’ allies, Britain and France, have also confirmed their readiness to attack Syria in the event of a chemical attack.

Propaganda from Fox News

Syria's Assad approves gas attack in Idlib despite warning, report says

Fox News,

10 February, 2018

President Bashar al-Assad has approved a gas attack in the Idlib province, which is the country’s last rebel stronghold, a report on Sunday said.

Reports of Assad's approval comes about a week after President Trump warned the strongman and his allies not to “recklessly attack” the province. Trump called any gas attack a potential “grave humanitarian mistake.”

The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, was first to report on Assad.

U.N. officials believe an offensive on Idlib would trigger a wave of displacement that could uproot an estimated 800,000 people and discourage refugees from returning home. The U.S. and France have warned an Idlib offensive would trigger a humanitarian crisis and warned that a chemical attack in Idlib would prompt a western retaliation.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the international pressure did little to sway Assad, who benefits from support from Russia and Iran. The report said Assad has approved the use of chlorine gas.

For Russia and Iran, both allies of the Syrian government, retaking Idlib is crucial to complete what they see as a military victory in Syria’s civil war after Syrian troops recaptured nearly all other major towns and cities, largely defeating the rebellion against Assad.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday urged his counterparts to accept a cease-fire and avert a “bloodbath” in Idlib. But Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a “total annihilation of terrorists in Syria,” while Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke of “cleansing the Idlib region of terrorists.”

On Sunday, government forces bombed the village of Hobeit in Idlib province, killing an infant girl and wounding several other civilians, the Syrian Civil Defense search-and-rescue group reported.

“We haven’t said that the U.S. would use the military in response to an offensive,” one senior administration official told the paper. “We have political tools at our disposal, we have economic tools at our disposal. There are a number of different ways we could respond if Assad were to take that reckless, dangerous step.”

US Says Assad Has Approved Gas Attack In Idlib, Setting Stage For Major Military Conflict

American intelligence has become so lazy they don’t even want to bother staging a false flag before they attack Syria.

Propaganda from zionist Y-Net

US officials: Assad approved use of chemical weapons in Idlib

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that in last 72 hours 1,060 Russian and Syrian air and ground strikes have pounded rebel-held stronghold where residents are preparing for a possible chemical weapons attack.

From the Wall Street Journal

U.S. Says Syria Plans Gas Attack in Rebel Stronghold

Chlorine assault would target Idlib in what could be a decisive battle in seven-year war, raising prospects for new retaliatory strike as thousands flee

WASHINGTON—President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has approved the use of chlorine gas in an offensive against the country’s last major rebel stronghold, U.S. officials said, raising the prospects for another retaliatory U.S. military strike as thousands try to escape what could be a decisive battle in the seven-year-old war.

In a recent discussion about Syria, people familiar with the exchange said, President Trump threatened to conduct a massive attack against Mr. Assad if he carries out a massacre in Idlib, the northwestern province that has become the last refuge for more than three million people and as many as 70,000 opposition fighters that the regime considers to be terrorists.

International efforts to avert an offensive have failed to dissuade Syria, Russia and Iran as they try to deliver a crippling blow to rebels who appear to be on the verge of defeat after trying for seven years to force Mr. Assad from power. Russia and Syria have stepped up their airstrikes, while thousands of civilians have been evacuated to government-controlled parts of Syria. Mr. Assad has rebuffed appeals from the United Nations, Turkey, the U.S. and others who have warned that an attack could trigger a new humanitarian crisis.

“Syria is once again at the edge of an abyss,” Francois Delattre, the French ambassador to the United Nations, said last week during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Idlib.

The Pentagon is crafting military options, but Mr. Trump hasn’t decided what exactly would trigger a military response or whether the U.S. would target Russian or Iranian military forces aiding Mr. Assad in Syria, U.S. officials said.

The U.S. could also use things like targeted economic sanctions against Syrian officials instead of military strikes.

“We haven’t said that the U.S. would use the military in response to an offensive,” one senior administration official said. “We have political tools at our disposal, we have economic tools at our disposal. There are a number of different ways we could respond if Assad were to take that reckless, dangerous step.”

Fears of a massacre have been fueled by new U.S. intelligence indicating Mr. Assad has cleared the way for the military to use chlorine gas in any offensive, U.S. officials said. It wasn’t clear from the latest intelligence if Mr. Assad also had given the military permission to use sarin gas, the deadly nerve agent used several times in previous regime attacks on rebel-held areas. It is banned under international law.

U.S. officials wouldn’t say on Sunday whether use of chlorine gas would trigger new U.S. airstrikes against the Assad regime.

“I will not comment on U.S. military plans, but Assad’s use of chemical weapons, sarin and chlorine, and disregard for civilian lives is well documented and contrary to regional stability,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said.

Mr. Trump launched airstrikes against Mr. Assad twice in the past two years after accusing the Syrian leader of using sarin gas in attacks that killed scores of civilians, including women and children.

This time, the Trump administration initially set a new red line by warning Mr. Assad that the U.S. would respond if he used chemical weapons. But the administration stance has hardened in recent days, as Mr. Trump has publicly warned Mr. Assad that he risks another U.S. military strike if he tries to retake Idlib.

“By my putting out that message I think maybe it’s going to send a signal,” Mr. Trump said last week in an interview with The Daily Caller, the conservative news website. “I mean we’re going to see, but it’s a terrible thing.”

U.S. officials have been trying for weeks to stave off the offensive. National security adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked their Russian counterparts to ensure that no chemical weapons were used in Idlib, U.S. officials said.

On Sunday, there appeared to be few signs that the U.S. threats were having a major impact. Russian and Syrian airstrikes in parts of Idlib and Hama provinces killed nearly two dozen civilians.

Regime helicopters dropped at least 55 barrel bombs—highly destructive oil drums filled with explosives—while Russian warplanes carried out other airstrikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, prompting thousands in Hama and southern Idlib province to flee their homes.

Since Friday, regime and Russian attacks have struck three hospitals, two first responder centers and one ambulance system, leaving thousands with no access to medical care, according to the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, a France-based charity that supports health care in opposition-held parts of Syria.

Russia and Iran, which provide Mr. Assad with the military firepower he has used to recapture most rebel-held parts of Syria, rejected an appeal last week by Turkey, which has forces operating in the Syrian province along its border, to avert an attack on the rebel haven.

Russia has also rebuffed U.S. warnings and suggested that opposition fighters in Syria might use chemical weapons on civilians in an effort to trigger a U.S. military response. U.S. officials said there is no evidence that Syrian rebels have the ability to carry out such attacks.

Mr. Trump’s first military strike on the Assad regime came in April 2017, when the U.S. military fired nearly 60 cruise missiles at a Syrian airfield in Idlib Province used as the launchpad for a sarin attack that killed at least 83 people.

Mr. Trump ultimately approved a one-time strike on the Syrian airfield, which failed to deter Mr. Assad from using chemical weapons again.

At the time, Mr. Trump said he was moved to act by graphic footage and photographs of young Syrian boys and girls choking for breath. Mr. Trump called Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to express his disgust and call for an American response.

“Let’s f—king kill him!” Mr. Trump told Mr. Mattis, according to Bob Woodward’s new book, “Fear,” which comes out this week. “Let’s kill the f—king lot of them.”

Mr. Mattis said he would develop options for the president, but then dismissed Mr. Trump’s approach when he got off the call, according to the book.

“We’re not going to do any of that,” Mr. Mattis told an aide, according to the book. “We’re going to be much more measured.”

Messrs. Trump and Mattis have both characterized the book as fiction.

The second Western response came five months ago, when the U.S., France and the U.K. fired more than 100 missiles at three Syrian targets in an effort to cripple Mr. Assad’s ability to use chemical weapons after he was accused of again using sarin in a deadly attack on a Damascus suburb. The Assad regime denied using sarin.

During the debate this year over how to respond to the second attack, Mr. Trump’s national-security team weighed the idea of hitting Russian or Iranian targets in Syria, people familiar with the discussions said. But the Pentagon pushed for a more measured response, U.S. officials said, and the idea was eventually rejected as too risky.

A third U.S. strike likely would be more expansive than the first two, and Mr. Trump would again have to consider whether or not to hit targets like Russian air defenses in an effort to deliver a more punishing blow to Mr. Assad’s military.

The Russians warn about a false flag to start September 8

Chemical Weapons Provocation in Syria to Start September 8 - Russian MoD

Sputnik,

8 September, 2018

Terrorists in the rebel-held Syrian city of Idlib have almost completed their preparations for a provocation involving chemical weapons, chief spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense Major General Igor Konashenkov stated Saturday.

According to the general, leaders of the terrorist group Tahrir al-Sham*, the Turkistan Islamic Movement and representatives of the White Helmets met in Idlib on September 7 in order to coordinate their participation in the upcoming false flag operation.

"The scenarios for the filming of staged ‘incidents’ with the alleged use of poisonous substances by Syrian government troops against civilians in the settlements of Jisr Al-Shugur, Serakab, Taftanaz, and Sarmin were finally agreed upon during the meeting. The full readiness of all participants involved in carrying out staged provocations should be ensured by the evening of September 8. The signal for the beginning of the practical phase of the terrorists' provocation in the province of Idlib will be a special team from some ‘foreign friends of the Syrian revolution',” Konashenkov said.

Previously, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Tahrir al-Sham terrorists were preparing a provocation in Syria's western Idlib province in order to accuse Damascus of using chemical weapons against civilians, while the UK, the US, and France said in August that they "will respond appropriately to any further use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime."

READ MORE: US Representative for Syria Says Possible Idlib Offensive Would Be 'Reckless'

Idlib province is a remaining stronghold of insurgency in the country, being also one of Syria's de-escalation zones. Syrian President Bashar Assad has previously underlined that liberation of the province was among the priorities for the Syrian military's operations.

*Turkistan Islamic Movement and Tahrir al-Sham (also known as Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Nusra Front) are terrorist groups, banned in Russia.

Terrorists & White Helmets met in Idlib to prep for final stage false flag chem attack – Russian MoD

RT,

8 September, 2018

The Russian military has obtained “irrefutable” data that terrorist groups, including Jabhat an-Nusra, and the infamous White Helmets met in Idlib province on Sunday, according to the ministry’s spokesperson Igor Konashenkov.

The militants plotted the final scenarios for the chemical attacks that the Syrian army are expected to make in the cities of Jisr ash-Shugur, Serakab, Taftanaz and Sarmin, the Russian military revealed.

“Full readiness of all participants involved in the staging of the provocations is be ensured by the evening of September 8,” Konashenkov stated. He added that the terrorists are to receive a “special” signal from some “foreign friends of Syrian revolution” to launch the operation.

READ MORE: US plan to prevent fall of last terrorist nest in Syria, no concern for civilians – Russian UN envoy

The statement comes after earlier warnings from Moscow’s that militants are preparing to stage a chemical attack in the Syrian province to give the Western coalition a pretext to strike Syria. In August, the Defense Ministry said that eight canisters of chlorine had been delivered to a village near Jisr al-Shughur city, and that a foreign-trained group of militants had also arrived in the area to simulate a rescue operation after the staged attack.

The US and its allies have repeatedly stressed its readiness to strike Syria if any attack takes place, ignoring all Russia’s warnings. Washington’s envoy to the UN Nikki Haley recently said that she already knows the perpetrators in case a chemical incident takes place in Syria.

In late August, American forces deployed missile destroyer USS ‘Ross’ to the Mediterranean and USS ‘The Sullivans’ to the Persian Gulf. The preparation of US military forces was condemned by Russia, with its Defense Ministry describing the move as “the latest evidence of the US intention” to take advantage of a false-flag attack.

On Friday, leaders of the three countries involved in the so-called “Astana process,” Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Iran’s Hassan Rouhani, met in Tehran to discuss the situation in Idlib and the rest of Syria. All three agreed that radical Islamists pose a threat to Syria, but there was no unanimous support for a major offensive in the terrorists’ last stronghold. The final document of the summit called for all armed groups in Idlib to lay down arms and seek a political transition in the country.

Revelation from OBSE worker

OBSE worker tells CBC about discovery of bullets from high-calibre machine gun on MH17

Allegedly from MH-17