US Intelligence, Military Work on Secret Measures to Deter Iran in Gulf Region – Reports
SputnikNews.com
24.06.2019
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – US intelligence and military are developing covert plans aimed at deterring Iran’s alleged aggression in the Persian Gulf without plunging the region into a full-scale war, The New York Times newspaper reported, citing former and current officials.
According to the media, the White House has asked the intelligence and the military to come up with countermeasures similar to last week’s cyberattacks against Iran, as well as with new operations that would be similar to the ones carried out by Tehran itself, the newspaper reported.
The officials did not give any details about the operations that were being considered against Tehran, but, according to the NYT the deterrence measures may include more cyberattacks, covert destabilising operations in Iran, actions against Iran proxies and operations against Iranian boats that had allegedly carried out the recent attacks on oil tankers in the region.
On 20 June, Iran shot down a US military surveillance drone, claiming that the aircraft violated the country’s airspace. Washington, in turn, said that the drone was moving in the international airspace when it was downed.
After the incident, Iran said it had successfully intercepted US cyberattacks on the Iranian missile control system that were allegedly launched to respond to the drone downing.
US defence intel chief: Iran likely at ‘inflection point,’ seeks ‘status quo’ change https://t.co/u6hI6Lrbzm pic.twitter.com/okekIVj0iZ
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) June 24, 2019
The incident has also prompted Washington to strengthen sanctions on Tehran.
The United States also blames Iran for attacking oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman earlier in June and off the United Arab Emirates’ coast in May. Tehran has refuted the US allegations as unsubstantiated.
