{"id":9722,"date":"2019-05-08T09:50:06","date_gmt":"2019-05-08T05:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/?p=9722"},"modified":"2021-10-02T11:29:30","modified_gmt":"2021-10-02T07:59:30","slug":"iranian-mek-pay-john-bolton-rudy-giuliani-nbcs-engel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nejatngo.org\/en\/posts\/9722","title":{"rendered":"Iranian MEK pay John Bolton, Rudy Giuliani; NBC\u2019s Engel"},"content":{"rendered":"

NBC\u2019s Engel Accuses U.S. of Trying to \u2018Provoke\u2019 War With Iran<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Appearing on MSNBC Monday morning, NBC\u2019s chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel repeatedly accused the Trump administration of trying to \u201cprovoke\u201d Iran into some sort of conflict by sending an aircraft carrier group to the region. He and anchors for the liberal cable channel portrayed the U.S. as a bully getting in Iran\u2019s face.
\nDuring the 9:00 a.m. ET hour, Engel told host Stephanie Ruhle: \u201cWell, if you look at the political chess board, right? I think what you\u2019re seeing here with this aircraft carrier is just one piece, and it\u2019s quite a troubling picture when you look at it as a whole.\u201d Ruhle urged him on: \u201cPaint it.\u201d Engel continued: \u201cIt seems like this administration is trying to paint Iran into a corner, maybe even provoke some sort of conflict with Iran.\u201d
\nThe reporter argued that the U.S. ship deployment was \u201ca very provocative action\u201d and \u201cvery threatening\u201d to Iran. Ruhle interjected: \u201cIsn\u2019t that like me going one inch away from your face going, \u2018Hit me. Come on, hit me\u2019?\u201d Engel agreed with her school-yard characterization: \u201cMore or less, yes.\u201d He reiterated her comments: \u201c…it\u2019s putting your face one inch from Iran and saying, \u2018I\u2019m doing this so that if don\u2019t hit me \u2013 or if you hit me, I can hit you right back.\u2019\u201d
\nReferring to increased U.S. economic sanctions against Iran, Engel worried: \u201cYou\u2019ve just taken Iran\u2019s ability to earn a living, support itself, by tightening these sanctions.\u201d
\nWrapping up the discussion, Ruhle fretted: \u201cOn a one to ten scale, you being someone who has covered the Middle East for years, how concerned are you about the recent actions from our administration towards Iran, in terms of creating real conflict?\u201d Engel replied by suggesting Trump would start a war for political benefit ahead of the 2020 election:
\nI think probably about a five at this stage. There\u2019s a lot of time between now and the next elections, so just under two years we\u2019re looking at. That\u2019s enough time. That\u2019s enough time to find some sort of provocation, go onto a conflict footing, which may have an impact on the political conversation in this country….it\u2019s a troubling picture. I\u2019d put it at a five, but we\u2019ll see.
\nAppearing again in the 11:00 a.m. ET hour, Engel warned: \u201cSo then why is this aircraft group going there? Is it to deal with a specific threat?…Or is it for some other reason? Potentially to provoke Iran.\u201d Fill-in host Yasmin Vossoughian eagerly seized on his comments: \u201cLet\u2019s go with that, let\u2019s go with what you just brought up….this idea that this could be a provocation to provoke Iran, to have Iran walk in \u2013 sort of walk into a conflict.\u201d
\nEngel began noting that Iranians were already seeing it that way, prompting Vossoughian to jump in: \u201cThat\u2019s how they\u2019re spinning it.\u201d Engel objected to the term \u201cspinning\u201d: \u201cThey are perceiving it, I don\u2019t know if they\u2019re spinning it.\u201d He then proclaimed:
\n…they think this is a trap that is being set for them. And they are not taking the bait….what they think is happening is that the United States is trying to pick some sort of fight, and is doing a provocative action, floating this flotilla right near Iran with the hopes, according to the Iranian interpretation, that it will incense them and start some kind of shooting conflict.
\nWhen the U.S. takes action against one of its enemies, and the world\u2019s leading state sponsor of terrorism, the media still find a way to make Iran look like the victim.<\/p>\n

Here is a full transcript of the May 6 exchange with Ruhle:<\/strong><\/p>\n

9:12 AM ET
\nSTEPHANIE RUHLE:<\/strong> Now we need to head overseas. The U.S. sending an aircraft carrier, warships, and fighter jets to the Middle East as a, quote, \u201cunmistakable message to Iran\u2019s regime.\u201d But so far the White House is not saying exactly what prompted the move. Here\u2019s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talking about it overnight on a flight to Finland.
\nMIKE POMPEO:<\/strong> It\u2019s something we\u2019ve been working on for a little while. It is absolutely the case that we\u2019ve seen escalatory actions from the Iranians and it is equally the case we will hold the Iranians accountable for attacks on American interests.
\nRUHLE:<\/strong> Richard Engel, NBC\u2019s chief foreign correspondent, my lucky day, joins me here in New York. Richard, I\u2019m so glad you\u2019re here because this means a lot. What exactly is the White House doing?
\nRICHARD ENGEL: Well, if you look at the political chess board, right? I think what you\u2019re seeing here with this aircraft carrier is just one piece, and it\u2019s quite a troubling picture when you look at it as a whole.
\nRUHLE:<\/strong> Paint it.
\nENGEL:<\/strong> It seems like this administration is trying to paint Iran into a corner, maybe even provoke some sort of conflict with Iran. So take it one piece at a time. So you\u2019re seeing this aircraft carrier floating near Iran. That\u2019s a very provocative action. If you\u2019re in Iran, that\u2019s a very threatening thing. Then, why \u2013
\nRUHLE:<\/strong> Isn\u2019t that like me going one inch away from your face going, \u201cHit me. Come on, hit me\u201d?
\nENGEL:<\/strong> More or less, yes. And then, the reason the White House is saying it, and anonymous defense officials, is that they say this is to prevent Iran from carrying out an attack. So to go back to your analogy, it\u2019s putting your face one inch from Iran and saying, \u201cI\u2019m doing this so that if don\u2019t hit me \u2013 or if you hit me, I can hit you right back.\u201d
\nThen look at another piece on the chess board. The U.S. just increased sanctions on Iran, tightened sanctions on Iran, denying Iran to really sell its oil around the world, threatening Turkey, India, China with sanctions if they do any business with Iran. So you\u2019re floating this aircraft carrier in front with the threat that, \u201cShould anything happen to American interests in the region, we\u2019re gonna whack you.\u201d You\u2019ve just taken Iran\u2019s ability to earn a living, support itself, by tightening these sanctions. Even though the rest of the world says that Iran is complying with the old nuclear deal.
\nThen another chess piece. Look at the timing. This come right after the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu got reelected by the skin of his teeth. And the Saudis would like this and the Saudis are very close to the Trump administration. Bolton is an Iran hawk, who was giving speeches for the MEK \u2013
\nRUHLE<\/strong>: Okay, stay on this for a moment. Help me understand John Bolton as he relates to Iran.
\nENGEL:<\/strong> So there are several Iran hawks, people in this administration who have for years been speaking about, been advocating for a hard line against Iran, if not direct violence against Iran and regime change in Iran. Rudy Giuliani has been one of them. John Bolton has been another. And they have spoken at gatherings sponsored by the MEK. The MEK used to be a terrorist organization, it was taken off the terrorist list. Iran certainly considers it a terrorist organization. And you go to these speeches, generally the MEK gives you money to appear at these speeches, and you talk about regime change in Iran. And Bolton and Rudy Giuliani have both been deeply tied into the MEK, and both have said that they don\u2019t \u2013 have not disclosed how much they\u2019ve ever taken in financial remunerations from the group.
\nRUHLE<\/strong>: On a one to ten scale, you being someone who has covered the Middle East for years, how concerned are you about the recent actions from our administration towards Iran, in terms of creating real conflict?
\nENGEL:<\/strong> I think probably about a five at this stage. There\u2019s a lot of time between now and the next elections, so just under two years we\u2019re looking at. That\u2019s enough time. That\u2019s enough time to find some sort of provocation, go onto a conflict footing, which may have an impact on the political conversation in this country. But if you look at this administration, which is so close to President Trump personally, so close to Israel, so close to Saudi Arabia, Bolton and others in the inner circle, this warship going there, tightening sanctions on Iran even though the rest of the region \u2013 the rest of the world said Iran didn\u2019t do it, it\u2019s a troubling picture. I\u2019d put it at a five, but we\u2019ll see.
\nRUHLE:<\/strong> Putting it at a five, a troubling picture. Again, we\u2019re so fortunate that the expert is here, Richard Engel.<\/p>\n

Newsbusters.org<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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