- Iranians holding Ashura mourning for Imam Hussein
- Third step: Iran officially informs EU of plan to expand nuclear R&D
- Iran expands nuclear R&D program: Rouhani
- Iran goes ahead in space tech, despite US sanctions: ISA
- Resistance Front undermining Israeli regime power: Top commander
- Iran: 7 crew members of detained UK ship freed
- US addiction to sanction threaten its power: Iran’s Zarif
- Dutch role in 2007 Stuxnet attack on Iran’s nuclear site under scrutiny: Iraian FM Spox.
- Iran: ‘Sustainable Security 2019’ kicks off in Caspian Sea
- Iran’s Zarif leaves Tehran for Moscow
- Shiraz University ranked 1st in liver transplantation: Iranian health official
- Japan’s Abe to meet Iran’s president to discuss easing tension in region
- Downing of US spy drone shattered war threats against Iran: Top IRGC commander
- IAEO head reports development of first ion-therapy hospital in west of Asia
- Iranian Taekwondo team wins 2019 World Cup championship
- US sanctions failed to force Iran to buckle: Report
- Crew fixing Iran oil tanker broken down in Red Sea
- As Iranians hold nerves, US seeks to scare off trade
- Leader expresses concern about Kashmir, urges India to follow fair policy toward Muslim-majority region
- Iran saffron exports down due to smuggling, government restrictions: Exporter
- Iran FM warns US against ‘serious miscalculation’ in Persian Gulf
- Iran’s resistance policy led to release of oil tanker: MP
- Iran in reverse brain drain as top students come home in rising numbers
- Iran official calls for compensation for tanker seizure
- Iran hails N Korea for standing against ‘unilateral’ US demands
- Shia Muslims celebrate Eid Al-Ghadir
- North Korea praises Iran’s anti-US struggle
- Zarif says to meet French president Friday
- Iranian court hearing case of UK oil tanker
- Over half of Japanese voters oppose joining US-led anti-Iran coalition in Persian Gulf: Poll
- IME trade ups by 21 percent in July
- Finland backs INSTEX in defiance of US
- US anti-Iran policy in high seas harms Europeans: LA Times
- Iran, China confer on Syria
- Iran, Finland share views on Persian Gulf dialogue forum: Zarif
- Iran warns US against seizure of oil tanker
- Iraq eager to benefit from Iranian Police’s experience
- Iran planning 3rd step to reduce nuclear commitments: Spokesman
- Leader grants clemency to over 1,000 Iranian inmates
- Registration for Arbaeen Pilgrimage to begin in Iran on Friday
- Iran, Iraq agree to reopen Khosravi border crossing
- Iran deplores suicide attack at Kabul wedding hall
- Iran to hold int'l hand-woven carpets expo
- Zarif meets with Iran-Kuwait Friendship Group members
- Adrian Darya oil tanker not under any sanctions, says Iran envoy
- ‘Iran to stay in nuclear deal as long as its interests are met’
- India envoy happy with positive trend of trade with Iran
- Iran’s annual export of white meat tops 2.5m tons: Minister
- Iranian scientist discovers new state of matter
- Iran, Japan diplomats discuss bilateral ties
- Iran, Ansarullah, European representatives Yemen developments
- ‘Iran to become self-sufficient in producing aircraft engines'
- US issues seizure warrant for Iranian supertanker 'Grace 1'
- Neanderthal tooth unearthed near Iran’s Zagros mountain
- Iran’s Zarif due in Kuwait on Saturday
- US faces humiliating defeat after Gibraltar releases Iranian tanker: Envoy
- Spokesman rejects claim on Iran’s commitment in exchange for tanker release
- Zarif reacts to release of Iranian tanker in Gibraltar
- Israel, UAE engaged in secret talks on Iran arranged by US: Report
- US threatens visa ban as Iranian-operated tanker sets to sail from Gibraltar
- Enemies must factor Iran's global power in their calculations: IRGC's chief commander
- Trump’s administration conflicting messages to Iran baffle go-betweens: Report
- Gibraltar releases Iran-operated tanker despite US pressure
TEHRAN, May 19 -US Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego says that the United States has exaggerated what it describes as threats posed by Iran amid escalation of tensions between the two countries.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -Gallego, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said he learnt during a classified briefing on Friday that intelligence had been manipulated into exaggerating the so-called threat, The Washington Post reported.
“What I saw was a lot of misinterpretation and wanting conflict coming from the administration and intelligence community,” Gallego told The Post by phone Saturday. “Intel doesn’t show existential threats. Even what it shows, it doesn’t show threats to US interests.”
The tensions, originally built up when President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, saw a sharp rise on the first anniversary of Washington's exit from the accord after the US moved to ratchet up the pressure on Iran.
Washington has recently tightened its oil sanctions on Iran and sent military reinforcements, including an aircraft carrier strike group, a squadron of B-52 bombers, and a battery of patriot missiles, to the Middle East.
On May 5, US National Security Adviser John Bolton — an ardent Iran hawk — said the deployment was in response to a “troubling and escalatory indications” of Iranian activity in the region, without giving details or evidence to support the claims.
Gallego told the Post that Bolton and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) were the two contributors to what he called a false narrative.
The two, in media appearances and behind closed doors, have been lobbying for a military escalation against the Islamic Republic.
Cotton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, discussed “multiple and credible sources of increased threats” from Iran on cable news.
“I get the same intel as Cotton,” Gallego wrote Saturday on Twitter.
Meanwhile, there will be a lawmakers-only forum next Tuesday in a secure auditorium to brief the House on the Iran intelligence.
Almost all of the Trump administration’s top national security officials will take part in the forum, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
However, among others, Bolton’s name is not the list of participants as announced by House Democrats.
Trump, who promised to keep the US out of costly foreign wars during his presidential campaign, has reportedly grown frustrated with Bolton and Pompeo for escalating the tensions beyond his own preference for diplomatic efforts and sanctions.
At the same time, US media have reported of growing conflict between Pompeo and Bolton over Washington’s Iran strategy.
Pompeo and his special representative for Iran, Brian Hook, have indicated that the Trump administration’s goal in pressuring Iran is renewed negotiations with Tehran, according to the report by Politico, citing two sources familiar with their thinking.
But Bolton is a deep skeptic of the value of negotiating with adversaries, the sources said.
Source:presstv
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