Tehran, September 20 (RHC)-- Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says even though former US national security adviser John Bolton — a proponent of war with Iran — has been fired by US President Donald Trump, like-minded politicians are still attempting to drag the US president into a military confrontation with the country.
In a tweet on Thursday, Iran’s top diplomat said that remnants of the “B-Team (+ambitious allies) try to deceive Donald Trump into war.” “For their own sake, they should pray that they won’t get what they seek. They're still paying for much smaller Yemen war they were too arrogant to end 4yrs ago,” Zarif added, a few days after Washington falsely blamed Iran for recent attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities and threatened to take action against Iran over the matter.
The “B-team” is a term thrown into popular usage by Zarif. It refers to a group of politicians who share an inclination toward potential war with Iran, and the letter “b” in their names. They include Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and, formerly, Bolton. The term has gained wider usage to refer to such Iran hawks as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as well as hard-line US Senators like Lindsey Graham.
The word is also a tacit reference to the group’s level of competence, always lagging behind the proverbial “A-team.”
On September 14, Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah fighters conducted strikes on two of Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, in Abqaiq and Khurais. The attacks led to a halt in about 50 percent of the Arab kingdom’s crude and gas production, causing a surge in oil prices. The Houthis publicly took credit for the attacks.
Yet, Pompeo swiftly blamed Iran. A short while later, Trump said the U.S. was “locked and loaded” for a response at the behest of Saudi Arabia, although he later said that he wanted no conflict with any country. Still later, the Pentagon reportedly prepared “response” options for the U.S. president.
In yet another tweet on Thursday, Zarif touched on the issue of the US’s obligation to issue visas for the heads of states and high-ranking officials of other countries wishing to participate in the United Nations General Assembly summit in New York every year.
The United States is obligated to issue such visas but has been dragging its feet to issue the documents for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Zarif, and other Iranian delegates for the 2019 summit as of yet.
Pompeo “tries to dodge U.S. obligation to issue visas for UN delegates by resorting to self-arrogated designations,” Zarif said.
