British General Undermines Trump’s Narrative on Impending Iranian Conflict

President Donald Trump’s implication that Iran is plotting attacks on American troops in the Middle East has further been disavowed following a statement from British Major General Chris Ghika.

Speaking to Common Dreams via an on-location video from Baghdad, Maj. Gen. Ghika stated that “there’s been no increased threat from Iranian-backed forces [in the Middle East].”

“We monitor them along with a whole range of others because that’s the environment we’re in,” continued Maj. Gen. Ghika.”If the threat level seems to go up then we’ll raise our force protection measures accordingly.”

In an effort to silence the British general, the U.S. Central Command released a rebuttal hours later, disputing Ghika’s statement and reiterating that they have “identified credible threats.”

This story comes amid claims that U.S. military leadership is attempting to manufacture a false narrative that would eventually justify launching a war with Iran. Just yesterday, May 14, it was reported that U.S. officials were making unsubstantiated claims that Iranian forces were attacking oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.

The Trump administration has yet to convince European allies of the alleged impending Iranian attacks—signaling that they most likely won’t be joining in this motion towards a war with the Middle Eastern nation. On Iran’s side of things, their leadership has been urging the use of diplomacy and avoidance of violence.

With tensions rising, Democratic party members have even begun joining the conversation, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, the latter of whom stated her support for a bill that would halt a war with Iran outright in a tweet on Tuesday: “We cannot let the Trump admin drag us into yet another war in the Middle East. This is exactly why the president doesn’t have the constitutional authority to declare war. That’s Congress’s job—and that’s why I’m supporting this legislation to prevent a war with Iran.”

We cannot let the Trump Admin drag us into yet another war in the Middle East. This is exactly why the President doesn’t have the constitutional authority to declare war. That’s Congress’s job – and that’s why I’m supporting this legislation to prevent a war with Iran. https://t.co/eb7QBaERbK

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) May 14, 2019

You can read the text of Warren and company’s Prevention of Unconstitutional War with Iran Act here.