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A shooting war between the US and Iran would set off a chain of uncontrollable conflicts.

It is now two years since the signing of the historic nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers. According to the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran has complied fully with the agreement. Yet the enmity between the US and Iran has reached fever pitch under Donald Trump's presidency.

Trump, with his Israeli and Arab allies, has squarely targeted Iran as the main culprit for almost all the problems bedevilling the Middle East. He denounced it as the source of instability and extremism in the region, and put it "on notice".

Some analysts have raised the spectre of a US-Iranian military confrontation. They include former US Middle East envoy Dennis Ross, who recently penned an article in Politico to this effect. While the Trump administration's Middle East policy remains very incoherent, a military engagement with Iran could be disastrous for all sides.

Iran is not an entirely innocent party in the conflicts raging in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Nor can it be dismissed as a source of growing Sunni-Shi'ite sectarian tensions and support for various sub-national groups, ranging from the Lebanese Hezbollah to the Iraqi Mahdi Army. Iran's involvement in these developments is part of a strategy of building a regional security architecture, stretching from Afghanistan to the Mediterranean. This, plus Iran's partnership with a re-assertive Russia, makes US concerns and those of its Arab allies, led by Saudi Arabia, understandable.

However, to blame solely Iran for the growing regional turmoil is to overlook other fundamental issues that darken the Middle East. It would be a gross oversight to ignore the role that the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the flawed US intervention in Afghanistan and invasion of Iraq, and the botched approach to the Syrian crisis have played in opening the space for Iran to extend its strategic reach.

It would equally be tragic to turn a blind eye to the tensions and conflicts that have gripped the Arab world, manifested in the so-called Arab spring popular uprisings, the Saudi Arabian-led Arab efforts to restore the status quo, and the funding that has gone from some Gulf Cooperation Council states, not just Qatar, to Syrian rebels. Some of this funding has ended up in the hands of such extremist groups as the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra, or what is now called Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, and also indirectly to the self-proclaimed Islamic State as anti-Shi'ite and anti-Iran groups.

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The latest move by Saudi Arabia and two of its Gulf council GCC allies the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain plus Egypt, to isolate and punish one of their own, Qatar, on the grounds that the emirate was supporting Islamist terrorism, is a further example of the perpetual conflicts that have struck the Arab landscape. However, Qatar's pursuit of an autonomous regional policy, involving good working relations with Iran, seems to be the main irritant. The Saudi-led demands for lifting the blockade of Qatar included that Qatar downgrade its relations with Iran, close down its Al Jazeera TV network (the only media in the Arab domain that was critical of authoritarian practices in the Arab world) and sever all ties with the Muslim Brotherhood movement and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza.

The Muslim Brotherhood's electoral victory in the 2012 Egyptian elections and its year-long term in government before the military overthrew it shocked the Egyptian establishment and challenged the political legitimacy of the Gulf monarchies to the extent they denounced the movement as a terrorist organisation. No Arab monarchy found the Muslim Brotherhood's rise more challenging than Saudi Arabia, which claims the leadership of the majority Sunni Islam against Iran's championship of the minority Shi'ite Islam. The Saudis and their allies dislike Hamas because it originally grew out of the Muslim Brotherhood, and because of its rule of Gaza, where Qatari humanitarian and reconstruction aid was been critical in making a difference to the lives of the mostly impoverished 2 million inhabitants of the strip under Israeli blockade since 2007.

Qatar rejected the Saudi-led demands as unrealistic and repugnant to its sovereignty. The blockade has already proved counterproductive, as it pushed Qatar further towards Turkey and Iran, which rushed military support and food supplies to the emirate respectively.

Coming on top of all this is the Trump administration's confused and contradictory rhetoric and action. Its lambasting of Iran as the source of all evils in the region belies its confirmation that Iran has honoured the nuclear agreement and the unspoken fact that it has shared the US's fight against Islamic States.

Whatever the final outcome of the US-Iranian hostilities, if it leads to a shooting war it is bound to set off a chain of uncontrollable conflicts in the region. Iran does not possess the military strength and firepower to withstand a sustained attack by the US or, for that matter, Israel, or both. However, it is resourceful enough to make any attack very costly for its perpetrators by engaging in asymmetrical warfare and causing an inferno across the region. A combination of Iranian fierce nationalism and Shi'ite allegiance, as well as regional links, could make such a conflict very expensive and protracted. Russian involvement could widen beyond Syria, where the risk of a major-power confrontation is now also high.

No Arab monarchy found the Muslim Brotherhood's rise in Egypt more challenging than Saudi Arabia.

Amin Saikal is distinguished professor of political science and director of the ANU's Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies (the Middle East and Central Asia). He is the author of Iran at the Crossroads (Polity Press, 2016). amin.saikal@anu.edu.au

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Qatar crisis: Iran is not the only catalyst of the Middle East's turmoil - The Canberra Times

Iranian President Hassan Rohani has criticized major dam projects by Turkey on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.

Rohani is demanding that Turkey halt construction of both dams, saying that they were "dangerous" for the entire Middle East.

Rohani made the comments during a conference on sandstorms in Tehran on July 3.

He did not name Turkey but said that multiple dams planned on the two major rivers that flow into Syria and Iraq will have "destructive consequences" and affect many, including Iran.

Turkey's control of the headwaters of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers is controversial in the Middle East.

Critics say decisions made by Turkey have led to water shortages in Syria and Iraq and have contributed to regional instability and wars.

Syrian Kurds in February accused Turkey of cutting off water supplies to the Euphrates River as a form of political pressure.

Activists warn that the dam on the Tigris River at the Turkish village of Ilisu will reduce the water flow to the marshlands of southern Iraq and threaten their existence.

Read more:
Iranian President Criticizes Turkey's Dam Projects - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

Ali Akbar Velayati (R), senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, shakes hands with Christian Masset, secretary general of the French foreign affairs ministry, in Tehran on July 3, 2017. (Photo by Tasnim news agency)

A senior adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Iran will resist any plot aimed at weakening or dividing up countries in the Middle East.

Undoubtedly, regional nations will never yield to the demands of extremist movements and their allies and it is better to take steps forthe establishment of regional peace, stability and security through international will, Ali Akbar Velayati, who advises the Leader on international affairs, said in a meeting with Christian Masset, secretary general of the French foreign affairs ministry, in Tehran on Monday.

He urged the European Union and Western countries to take up more independent policies vis-a-vis regional and international issues.

On the West Asian and North African issues, global cooperation and coordination as well as firm determination and will must be establishedto counter extremist, Takfiri and terrorist movements, Velayati said.

He added that some countries are exploiting tensions and crises in the region and are not interested in the establishment of regional peace and stability.

However, Iran has over the past yearsbeen standing up against and resisting all these movements that have disturbed global peace and security, the senior Iranian official said.

In line with its principled and fundamental policy, Iran wants the preservation of the territorial integrity of regional countries, he added.

Velayati also expressed Irans readiness to cooperate with France and other countries seeking to promote global peace and stability.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he pointed to deep-rooted relations between Tehran and Paris and called on the two countries officials to take more serious steps to boost cooperation and remove obstacles in the path to such ties.

Common Iran-France stance on regional issues

The French official, for his part, said Tehran and Paris have common stance on regional issues.

Masset also said the two countries enjoy deep-rooted relations and must use their potential to further expand cooperation.

The French foreign ministry official is visiting Tehran few days after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif traveled to Paris on the third leg of a European tour on Thursday. The top Iranian diplomat held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian and President of the French Senate Gerard Larcher.

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Iran will resist divisive plots in Mideast: Leader's aide - Press TV

SOUTHWEST ASIA, July 3, 2017 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 19 strikes consisting of 63 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 18 strikes consisting of 21 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, three strikes destroyed three ISIS front-end loaders, two oil separator tanks and a wellhead.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an ISIS wellhead.

-- Near Raqqa, 14 strikes engaged 13 ISIS tactical units and destroyed 10 fighting positions and a mortar system.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of 42 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Mosul, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit; destroyed 15 fighting positions, seven medium machine guns and a heavy machine gun; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit and a mortar team.

July 1 Strikes

Additionally, 12 strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on July 1 that closed within the last 24 hours:

-- Near Abu Kamal, Syria, a strike destroyed two ISIS oil tanker trucks, an oil trailer and a road grader.

-- Near Kisik, Iraq, a strike suppressed an ISIS mortar team.

-- Near Mosul, Iraq, a strike destroyed an ISIS-held building and damaged four supply routes.

-- Near Raqqa, Syria, five strikes engaged three ISIS tactical units, destroyed a fighting position and a heavy machine gun and suppressed 27 fighting positions.

-- Near Shadaddi, Syria, four strikes destroyed two ISIS command-and-control nodes, a staging area and a vehicle-borne-bomb facility.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect.

For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

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Coalition Strikes Hit ISIS Terrorists in Syria, Iraq - Department of Defense

A brave British soldier reportedly drowned an evil ISIS fighter in a puddle after the terror group surrounded a group of Special Boat Service troopers in Iraq.

After the fearless special forces fighters ran out of bullets, they decided to go out fighting and used their knives and bare hands to kill as many brainwashed extremists as possible.

In an extraordinary survival story, another Brit soldier killed three militant thugs using his rifle as a club, reportsThe Daily Star.

An Iraqi fighter in Mosul on July 3. (REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah)

The heroic members of the Royal Navys Special Boat Service reportedly were convinced they were going to die after being outnumbered and encircled after being ambushed by around 50 ISIS fighters near Mosul.

After killing at least 20 of the terrorists, the elite group realized they had around 10 bullets left between them and were trapped in a small river bed, the report said.

SYRIAN MILITARY DECLARES TEMPORARY CEASE-FIRE

Faced with the prospect of being captured and tortured, the men opted for a soldiers death and decided to fight like crazed warriors to kill as many of the extremists as possible.

Speaking with the Star, the source said: They knew that if they were captured they would be tortured and decapitated.

QATAR CRISIS DEADLINE EXTENDED

Rather than die on their knees, they went for a soldiers death and charged the IS fighters who were moving along the river bed.

They were screaming and swearing as they set about the terrorists.

Click for more from The Sun.

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British soldier drowns ISIS thug in puddle after being ambushed in Iraq, report says - Fox News