Saudi Arabia on Tuesday blamed Yemeni rebels aligned with Iran for launching explosives-laden drones at oil facilities. State oil company Aramco shut down pumping on one of its pipelines, but no injuries or deaths were reported.
Hunt said he was concerned about"an escalation that is unintended really on either side but ends with some kind of conflict." He called for"a period of calm to make sure that everyone understands what the other side is thinking."
It was the latest sign of daylight between the U.S. and its European allies on their policies regarding Iran. While the European Union shares some of Washington's concerns about the Islamic republic,What worries some experts in Europe is the bellicose rhetoric being exchanged between the U.S. and Iran.
Never mind who was behind Sunday's attack, it is the mere uncertainty surrounding it, combined with the warlike words exchanged by both sides, that escalates the risk for some misunderstanding leading to war, so this theory goes. "Regardless of whether these ships got hit by Iranians or not, the Americans and the Iranians have gotten themselves into this cycle where neither seems to be able to back down from making belligerent statements," according to Michael Stephens, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank.
The tough talk employed by Trump, Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton carries significant and perhaps unintended and unforeseen risks, Stephens said."If that's what drives the Iranians to the negotiating table, then it's a successful tactic," he said."But it really is playing with fire, and all it takes is for one thing to go wrong because the Middle East is a tinderbox.
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