US Leaders Advising Prudence on Iran Reflects ‘New Balance of Power’ in Persian Gulf

More and more US politicos and military leaders are advising restraint in any response to Iran following the attack on Saudi oil facilities. Investigative journalist Gareth Porter told Sputnik the increased caution reflects a realization that the US can’t do whatever it wants in the Persian Gulf anymore.

When Saudi Aramco’s oil facilities in Buqayq and Khourais came under air attack Saturday, halving the country’s massive daily crude oil output and denting world petroleum markets, many politicians rushed to point the finger at Iran, even though the Yemeni Houthi movement, locked in a brutal, four-year-long war with Riyadh, claimed responsibility for the attack. However, US President Donald Trump has slowly backed off from his “locked and loaded” threats against Tehran as the chorus of voices has grown calling for restraint, levelheadedness and careful investigation before making a decision about a response.

Perhaps the most prominent reins-puller has been the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a counsel of US military leaders from each service branch who advise the president on military matters. Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., who chairs the body, stressed in Tuesday comments from London that the US would provide forensic support to Riyadh and give them “time to conduct an assessment and make an announcement as to what they think happened,” the Washington Post reported.

“Having said that, what we saw was an unacceptable act of aggression,” Dunford noted. “There are a number of ways to deal with that.”

Likewise, former JCS chairman retired Adm. Michael G. Mullen told the New York Times Tuesday it was “a situation ripe with the possibility of miscalculation,” requiring communication with Tehran, not posturing and rebuffing.

“We have not had a good line of communication with Iran since 1979, so if something happens, the odds of us getting it right are pretty small,” he noted.

“I think you shouldn’t be surprised,” Gareth Porter, historian, investigative journalist and analyst specializing in US national security policy, told Radio Sputnik’s Loud and Clear Tuesday about the Joint Chiefs’ prudence. “I think it’s very believable that the JCS do not want to get into a war over this crisis.”

However, he also noted he was “a bit surprised” by the magnitude of institutional pushback, which included politicos ranging from Utah Senator Mitt Romney to former NATO chief retired Adm. Jim Stavridis, who urged restraint and adherence to a process of demonstrable proof before deciding on a response or target.

“It’s a good sign,” he said.

However, that said, Trump’s second-in-line, Vice President Mike Pence, beat the war drums once again while speaking Tuesday at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, posturing that the US was “locked and loaded” and “ready to defend our interests and our allies in the region. Make no mistake about it.” 

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham also tweeted on Tuesday, unequivocally calling the oil facility attack “an act of war” that resulted from a loss of “deterrence against Iranian aggression.”