WhatsappSecretary of State Mike Pompeo made a sudden trip to Iraq after abruptly cancelling his meeting with Germany’s Chancellor Merkel forcing many observers to openly speculate if the US was preparing for a war with Iran.
What would have caused the Secretary of State to make such a sudden and unexpected trip to Iraq? Just before this trip, it was leaked that the Mossad had passed critical intelligence to the United States detailing Iranian preparations for an attack on US forces in the region.
More than that, the current increase in sanctions against Iran and Iran’s threat to leave the nuclear deal has ratcheted up tension across the region. While the Iranian economy has been hit hard by the sanctions, its rulers are still continuing a policy of expansionism and brutal oppression of the places it occupies.
Under the guise of combatting ISIS, the Ayatollahs played on the Obama administration’s sympathies to sweep across Sunni and Kurdish areas of Iraq, ethnically cleansing cities like Mosul and Kirkuk. They also used the chaos ISIS brought to take over areas abutting the Israeli Golan and Galilee.
With sanctions taking their toll and Trump’s Deal of the Century set to be released after Ramadan, which is sure to completely shift the current paradigm between Sunni states and Israel – Iran is set to counterpunch against both Sunni Gulf interests and US forces both patrolling the Persian Gulf and those stationed in Iraq.
War with Iran Maybe Coming Very Soon
But Pompeo’s trip appeared to be about something far more pressing than strategic talks. If Iran is set to attack US forces in Iraq then the reaction needs coordination with local allies to ensure Iran gets the message. If not then any attack would swiftly spiral out of control into an open and full fledged conflict.
