Iran Threatens US Allies With Attack, Resumes Uranium Enrichment At Furdow

Iran bolstered its position in preparations for what seems to be possible hostilities with the United States, with a statement that comes across as a not-so-veiled threat. The country also activated a key underground uranium enrichment site, further reducing commitments to a nuclear deal between it and world powers.

There is no open conflict between the United States and Iran at present but these were not the words of a country that wants to discuss peaceful solutions.

The Iranians announced Tuesday that in the event of hostilities with the United States, any country that hosted U.S. troops, or its allies, would be considered a combatant and, therefore, attackable regardless of whether they are directly participating in the conflict or not. That is pretty strong language, no matter how you look at it.

This might be smoke and mirrors, or political saber-rattling, considering the United States just hammered Iran with even more sanctions, but the picture that it paints is pretty bleak. However, this is nothing new in this part of the world. Diplomatic ties between both countries are non-existent since the Islamic Revolution almost 40 years ago. Questions about Iran's nuclear weapons program and sanctions imposed by the U.S. have driven relations, or whatever is left of them, to the edge for years. The U.S. has long suspected Iran, through its proxies, of being behind several attacks in the oil fields of Syria and other key installations.

Though there is no direct threat to the United States at this time, military and government agencies consider Iran to be a direct threat to assets in the region The United States military moved an aircraft carrier battlegroup and shored up its defenses in the area earlier this month after a September attack on Saudi oil production facilities took down approximately 6 percent of the global oil supply.

The U.S. military has openly blamed Iran for the June attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Military Times reported that officials with Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S. military's military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, said starting in June, there has been an increase in the number of rocket and other attacks near U.S. bases in Iraq.

Analysts believe Iran has been using militias and other groups in the region to carry out attacks on their behalf and hide when the responsibility comes down. The danger to Americans and their allies in the area continues to rise.

Separately, Iran President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday that the country will start injecting uranium gas into centrifuges at its underground Fordow enrichment facility, further complicating any effort to preserve the nuclear deal between the country and world powers. Trump pulled the United States out of the deal in May last year and reimposed sanctions on Iran.

Under the 2015 deal, Iran had agreed to convert Fordow into a “nuclear, physics and technology center” and use the centrifuges there for non-military purposes.