Unprecedented provocations<\/h2>\n
Two days after Trump\u2019s move, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo claimed<\/a><\/strong><\/span> there were \u201cvery real\u201d connections<\/a> between<\/a><\/strong><\/span> the Shia-Islam-dominated Iranian government with the Wahhabi<\/strong><\/span><\/a>-Islam fundamentalist<\/a> al-Qaeda . The implication is that the White House could use<\/strong><\/span><\/a> the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, which the US Congress passed to go after those who committed 9\/11 attacks, to attack Iran; an idea that Senator Rand Paul completely rejected<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Wilkerson said<\/a><\/strong><\/span> that Pompeo\u2019s attempts to link al-Qaeda with Iran is one of the last building blocks:<\/span><\/p>\n in setting the stage for a war with Iran; for the use of military force against Iran.<\/span><\/p>\n Wilkerson served in three separate Republican administrations; those of Ronald Reagan, George H W Bush, and George W Bush. And he told The Canary<\/em> that, during that time, he worked on national security affairs at the US Pacific Command, with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the State Department.<\/span><\/p>\n Wilkerson said<\/a><\/strong><\/span>:<\/span><\/p>\n my experience, as well as my research over the last 15 years in academia, leads me to believe\u2026 there is almost no contact [between Iran and al-Qaeda].<\/span><\/p>\n He continued<\/strong><\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n There have been times where al-Qaeda might have made overtures to the Iranian government or to parts of that government, like the Quds Force or IRGC, but they\u2019ve always been rebuffed<\/span><\/p>\n He also noted<\/a><\/strong><\/span> Iran\u2019s \u201cfierce attacks on the terrorists groups in Syria\u201d and that \u201cIran itself has been attacked by terrorist groups\u201d, often with the support of the Saudi government<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>and Pakistan\u2019s ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence).<\/span><\/p>\n Wilkerson summarised<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0that:<\/span><\/p>\n Iran has been a receptor\u2026 of terrorist attacks just like the United States, Europe, and other places have been. So Iran is not a sponsor of terrorism.<\/span><\/p>\n And he concluded, as The Canary<\/em> has outlined<\/strong><\/span><\/a> previously:<\/span><\/p>\n The greatest state sponsor of terrorism in the region, and indeed in the world, is Saudi Arabia\u2014our ally.<\/span><\/p>\n In fact, after the 9\/11 attacks, the Iranian government made repeated overtures<\/strong><\/span><\/a> to the US, offering its support in targeting al-Qaeda and toppling the Taliban in Afghanistan. But the US ultimately labelled<\/strong><\/span><\/a> Iran part of its \u201caxis of evil\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Col-Lawrence-Wilkerson-300x168.jpg\")
<\/a>Donald Trump has long had Iran in his sights<\/a><\/strong><\/span>. But on 8 April, he took the unprecedented<\/a><\/strong><\/span> step of labelling<\/strong><\/span><\/a> the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a branch of the Iranian armed forces, a \u201cterrorist organisation\u201d. The Iranian government responded<\/strong><\/span><\/a> by labelling US Central Command<\/a><\/strong><\/span> a \u201cterrorist organisation\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n\u2018Setting the stage for war a with Iran\u2019<\/h2>\n
\u2018There is almost no contact between Iran and Al Qaeda\u2019<\/h2>\n
The \u201cgreatest state sponsor of terrorism\u201d in the Middle East is not Iran, but Western ally<\/span><\/a> Saudi Arabia<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/h5>\n