WWIII Looming Between Iran and the US

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As the weeks go on with the conflict between the US and Iran, neither side seems ready to blink and are continuing to show more force towards each other. What's worse? Washington seems to have no de-escalation strategy. Regional experts and government officials are voicing their worry over the potential for conflict, the price of oil also spiked on Monday by 1.5%. A sign of things to come? Ellie Geranmayeh said “In the absence of a serious diplomatic channel, the current maximalist approach from the Trump White House could spark a new cycle of intentional or inadvertent military confrontation in the region.” Ali Vaez, director of the Washington D.C.-based Iran Project, told CNBC.

“With so much tension and friction between the two countries and no channel of communication or exit ramp, it appears that the Trump administration has no effective de-escalation strategy other than hoping that its muscle flexing would scare the Iranians, this is a perilous gambit."

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The Guardian also reported that some UAE tankers were sabotaged just recently with Iran being the likely subject.

A festering four-year war, crippling sanctions, threats to maritime oil trade and a US naval battlegroup steaming for the Persian Gulf. Such developments were troubling enough, before two Saudi tankers were reportedly sabotaged off the UAE coast on Sunday – a development set to ratchet tensions between Tehran and Washington to new and combustible highs.

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All of this conflict over the USA's bombardment of sanctions listed below!
In August last year, the Trump administration slapped sanctions on:

the purchase or acquisition of US-dollar bank notes by Iran
Iran's trade in gold and precious metals
transactions using the Iranian rial
transactions with Iran in graphite, aluminum, steel, coal, and industrial software
transactions related to the issuance of Iranian sovereign debt
sale to Iran of cars and car parts
imports to the US of Iranian luxury goods such as carpets and caviar
sale to Iran of commercial passenger aircraft
In November, Washington stepped up the pressure, imposing sanctions on:
Iran's oil exports and energy sector
financial institutions conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran,
port operators, shipping and ship-building sectors
provision of insurance and financial messaging services to Iran
And a year after exiting the nuclear deal, the US imposed fresh sanctions on Iran's metal sector. It also revoked sanctions waivers that allowed Russia and European countries to conduct civilian nuclear cooperation with Iran.

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Iran has gone as far to say that if the US strikes them in any way then Israel will suffer. It's as if Iran wants the US to attack as Trump has made it very clear his ultimate support for the country. So are we heading to war? It is actually pretty likely this time around. What are your thoughts? Please leave your comments in the replies section below.

Have a very nice day!

This article was written by @cifer44