<THREAD> Is @realDonaldTrump serious about war with Iran? 1/9
You woke up this morning to a twitter rant from @realDonaldTrump threatening war with Iran. This is not new fodder for the administration. My story from Feb last year looked at the looming war of Islam and the influence of Stephen Bannon. 2/9 narativ.org/2017/02/08/the…
For Trump's key ally, Russia's Vladimir Putin, Iran is a bargaining chip he could put in play. That was the subtext of the Seychelles meeting in January 2016 which included Erik Prince and a Russian rep. 3/9 washingtonpost.com/world/national…
Putin wants to keep Iran in his fold because it allows him to access a warm water port in Syria. This makes Iran a key strategic interest for Putin but one he could trade. I write about it here from April last year. 4/9 narativ.org/2017/04/04/put…
Trump also wants to weaken Iran because it would please his key backer Sheldon Adelson and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, both see Iran as an existential threat to Israel. 5/9 theatlantic.com/international/…
There is already a simmering conflict between Iran and Israel of Syria's Golan Heights. If this spills into an all out war, the world could divide quickly into East vs West. 6/9
And Trump's other ally, Saudi's Crown Prince Salman is warning Iran not to choke off the important access to to the Gulf's oil shipping routes. And the two countries are at war in Yemen. 7/9 nationalinterest.org/feature/trump-…
And this final intriguing note: Trump and his daughter, Ivanka, were involved in developing Trump Tower in Baku, Azerbaijan, partly funded by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard money. 8/9 narativ.org/2017/07/23/cri…
Is @realDonaldTrump serious abt war? The answer is yes. It would please donors, allies and base. NSA Bolton supports this idea. Will it happen? It's really unlikely under current strain on this presidency but if Saudi Arabia or Israel invades Iran, the US will be drawn in. 9/9
Thanks for sharing @traciemac_Bmore
