{"id":51765,"date":"2017-11-10T08:00:48","date_gmt":"2017-11-10T08:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=51765"},"modified":"2017-11-10T08:00:48","modified_gmt":"2017-11-10T08:00:48","slug":"middle-east-nearing-an-explosion-warns-former-white-house-advisor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/middle-east-nearing-an-explosion-warns-former-white-house-advisor.html","title":{"rendered":"Middle East \u2018nearing an EXPLOSION\u2019, warns former White House advisor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Middle East \u2018nearing an EXPLOSION\u2019, warns former White House advisor<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Robert Malley, vice president for policy at the International Crisis Group, has claimed that deteriorating situation in Lebanon could be a \u201cmirror\u201d for what could erupt between Saudi Arabia and Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr Malley, who served as the White House coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and Gulf Region under President Obama, said: \u201cLebanon has long been a mirror for the broader Middle East.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe region\u2019s more powerful actors use it, variously, as a venue for their proxy wars, an arena in which to play out the Arab-Israeli conflict, and a testing ground for periodic bouts of Saudi-Iranian coexistence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His comments follow reports Saudi Arabia\u2019s King Salman is preparing to make his son Prince Mohammed bin Salman the ruler in a shock move following a corruption purge.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Mr Malley, there have been at least telling signs that a major conflict is brewing in the Middle East.<\/span><\/p>\n

He said: \u201cFirst, Saad Hariri, Lebanon\u2019s prime minister, announced his resignation. The decision was announced by the Lebanese prime minister but it was made in Saudi Arabia.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia\u2019s crown prince and de facto leader, had reason to want it to happen. Saudi-Iranian tensions are rising and bin Salman is determined to depict Tehran as the source of all regional evils.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAct two was news that Saudi Arabia had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen and purportedly aimed at Riyadh\u2019s airport.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis was not the first missile that the Houthis, a Yemeni rebel group enjoying Iranian and Hezbollah support, had fired at its northern neighbour, but its timing and unprecedented range could make it one of the more consequential.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSaudi officials quickly and publicly drew a direct line connecting the strike to Iran and Hezbollah; it was, they proclaimed, an act of war for which they held both responsible.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAct three was the massive Saudi purge in which over 10 princes and dozens of businessmen and senior officials were put under house arrest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The former White House advisor claims these latest developments point to an \u201cincreasingly emboldened and single-minded Saudi leadership\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr Malley also believes that Saudi Arabia is eager to work with the US, whose President Donald Trump has repeatedly rebuked the Iran for \u201cfailing\u201d to keep the nuclear weapons deal signed in 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump has previously condemned it as the “worst deal ever” and is understood he wants to walk away from the accord, in which Iran agreed to halt being armed with nuclear weapons.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Mr Malley warned that Saudi Arabia \u201clacks the ability to directly challenge Iran militarily\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

It comes as the resignation of the Saudi-allied Lebanese prime minister has been blamed on Tehran\u2019s powerful ally Hezbollah.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr Malley continued: \u201cYet Lebanese, whether affiliated with Hezbollah or others, also seem persuaded that some form of action has become virtually inescapable.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHere in Lebanon, people are uncertain about who might take the first strike; who (of Iran or Hezbollah) might be its target; when or where (in Lebanon, Syria, or Iran) it might occur; and what it might look like. But they sense something will happen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIran and Hezbollah are likely to react: Both sides may wish to avoid a serious confrontation but neither can afford to show it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe question then becomes whether in this context one side\u2019s limited action and another\u2019s limited reaction can stop there or escalates.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Mr Malley added that \u201cfew in Lebanon seem to believe an all-out war is imminent\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0http:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/news\/world\/877334\/Saudi-Arabia-Iran-World-War-3-Middle-East-explosion-White-House-advisor-warning-Lebanon<\/span><\/p>\n

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