Issues Under Fire: As Iran-P5+1 Talks Resume, U.S.-Iran Navies Face-off

Issues Under Fire: As Iran-P5+1 Talks Resume, U.S.-Iran Navies Face-off  

As if the Iran-P5+1 nuclear negotiations weren't complicated enough, on the very day the talks resume, the United States finds itself facing off in international waters against Iranian navel ships. Reportedly positioning major navel assets near regional waters to counter efforts by Iran to provide arms to the Houthi rebels, the Obama administration is clearly sending a message. Don't mess around in Yemen.  

From Tehran's perspective, Iran's interest in Yemen is purely humanitarian. From the very beginning of Saudi Arabia's air campaign, Tehran called for restraint. When the casualties began to mount, Iran called the attacks genocidal and demanded an end to the air strikes. Never straying from a narrative of seeking peaceful and political solutions,  Tehran has displayed no interest in participating in the conflict to date. 

On the other hand, while being accused (without providing proof) of assisting the Houthi rebels with arms to battle Al-Qaeda in Yemen, the United States has thrown its support behind Saudi Arabia, the United States' best arms customer. With more than $90 billion in weapons sales to the Wahhabi practicing Saudi Sunnis, with suspected links to strains of Al-Qaeda and ISIS, the United States backed the attacks against Yemen's Houthi rebels until the last bombs fell yesterday.

Since one can only speculate as to why the United States would align itself with Saudi Arabia during the most sensitive phase of the Iran-P5+1 negotiations, that's precisely what this observer will do. Since Saudi Arabia has concerns Iran is getting too powerful to contain and could out pace the region militarily, economically and influentially, Tehran must be held in check. Since Israel, the United States' other BFF has the same concerns, Tehran can not be allowed to thrive. Iran must be stopped at any cost. Unfortunately, that cost can be high. 

If reports of massive amounts of Saudi money has been funding ISIS and Al-Qaeda terror throughout the region is even remotely true, the price of doing business with Saudi Arabia could be incalculable. One can only imagine the cost to U.S. credibility, if it were realized, the United States has been selling arms to a country, that in turn, has been funneling those arms directly to groups dedicated to the spread of Islamic extremism.  

Bottom line: Upon completing a careful review of all parties involved in the myriad of complex regional conflicts, this observer finds the Islamic Republic of Iran to be the least destabilizing force in the Middle East. Perhaps if the Obama administration's negotiators were free to acknowledge the true nature of Tehran's influence on the region, the talks could proceed with less rancor.

Update: Saudis Resumed Bombing!