U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon in an effort to ease tensions between Washington and Tel Aviv over Iran’s nuclear deal. Then he will travel to Saudi Arabia and Jordan mainly to reaffirm U.S. allies in the region that the “military option” is still on the table despite the fact that a nuclear deal was reached between the P5 + 1 and Iran. Before the meeting, the Israel-based daily online news source Haaretz reported that Carter had no intention of “persuading Israeli leaders to drop their opposition to the Iran nuclear deal”. Carter mentioned that “our ability to carry out that strategy is unchanged”. Carter said that “This is a good deal,” and further added that “It removes a critical element of danger, threat and uncertainty from the region”. Carter was asked if “Israel will launch a pre-emptive military strike on Iran” according to the report:

Carter noted that the U.S. has discussed military options with Israel for a number of years.

“One of the reasons this deal is a good one is that it does nothing to prevent the military option — the U.S. military option, which I’m responsible for” and which will be improved and preserved, he said, adding that he could not speak for Israel”

No matter what Iran does, it will be accused of seeking nuclear weapons although the Israeli ‘Mossad’ and U.S. intelligence agencies admitted in the past that Iran has no intentions to build a nuclear bomb. Iran has enriched uranium for its energy needs and for medical purposes as a right under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It was inspected by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which keeps track of uranium stockpiles worldwide. An important note, Iran agreed to stop enrichment and swap uranium with Turkey and Brazil back in 2010 which President Obama vehemently blocked the deal and pushed for more sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Iran will be demonized no matter what it does now or in the future to satisfy its obligations under the NPT. Do I believe Iran’s nuclear deal will still be in place with the next U.S. administration? Not so sure. The majority Israel-owned politicians in congress led by Senators Tom Cotton, Roy Blunt and Presidential candidate Marco Rubio and others including special interest groups such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the Christians United for Israel (CUFI) want to sabotage the Iranian nuclear deal. “No deal is better than a bad deal” at least according to Netanyahu who said that it was a “historic mistake for the world”. Expect Netanyahu to continue his attack on the nuclear deal. Maybe the world should demand that the IAEA inspect Israel’s real nuclear weapons program, but of course, that will not happen any time soon with a U.S. congress beholden to Israeli interests.

The “No Nukes for Iran” Tour

Republican presidential candidate Senator and warmonger Lindsey Graham, Senator John McCain and former Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman will be launching a nation-wide “No Nukes for Iran” tour at a town hall meeting held in New York City. The senators want congress to vote against the alleged “bad deal” negotiated by the Obama administration. They will take their case to numerous states across the U.S. including Indiana, Colorado, Nevada, Florida and several others. Senator Graham is opposed to the nuclear deal (as most republicans) said “a good deal or no deal should be our choice”. Democrat Joseph Lieberman said that the Iran deal is “the greatest disappointment”.

The Iranian nuclear deal is the first step of many for Iranian negotiators. However, between the U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter declaring to the Israeli’s that the “military option” is still on the table and the “No Nukes for Iran” tour launching in New York City seems that the U.S. political elites and other anti-Iranian organizations will do whatever it takes to make sure that the Iranian nuclear deal fails. According to a Bloomberg news report:

But also Graham reminded the audience that this year marked the anniversary of the end of World War II, and portrayed Obama’s deal as a threat to the Jewish state of Israel. “Seventy years ago this year we liberated the camps,” he said, adding, “To our friends in Israel, I join you in saying never again. To the American people I say, I will make sure that there is never another 9/11.” Later, he warned, “Don’t put Israel in this box. Don’t make it feel that she—that Israel—has to go it alone.”

An observant Jew, Lieberman is himself a major proponent of Israel, and called the vote on whether to approve the Iran deal “the most important opinion that any member of congress will ever cast.”

The U.S. wants Iran’s natural resources under its control. Israel wants Iran to become another Iraq, fragmented and politically divided. The Iranian nuclear deal is in for a long ride. At this point anything can happen. Let’s hope the deal remains in place and the sanctions are finally lifted. Iran is an opportunity for business and technology that would benefit many countries around the world. Not only would Iran be a partner in the realm of international business, it would also help defeat ISIS and other terrorist affiliated groups in the region. The Iranian deal is a win-win for everyone, but it seems that the U.S. and Israel want to be the winners and Iran the loser. Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s comments on Obama’s State of the Union address this past January is closer to the truth on what America’s foreign policy is really all about. According to a Press TV report, Lavrov said that “The address delivered by President Obama yesterday proves that the [US] philosophy has only one central piece – we are No.1 and everyone else has to admit it”. Lavrov also said that “this [attitude] is a bit old-fashioned, it fails to meet present-day realities and demonstrates that the United States actually wants to dominate the world rather than be the first amongst equals,” added Lavrov, noting, “This too shall pass.” Let’s hope it does in the name of peace.