Western governments’ abandonment of the very system of international law which they created was embodied in a tweet from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which sought to justify the illegal Israeli attack on Iran as “Targeted strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities”.
The former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Authority, Mohamed ElBaradei, was left to point out that far from a justification, it is specifically against international law to target nuclear facilities.
He refers to Article 56 of the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions. While we are on the subject, you might also wish to see article 54:
It is worth noting that the exception on destruction of foodstuffs at Article 5 refers to the right of a country which is defending against invasion, not which is invading another country. It means that it is not illegal for a country to destroy crops and stocks of its own, on its own territory. Which is to say a scorched-earth policy against an invader is legal. It does not give the right to refuse supplies to a population under occupation.
The German justification was of course just part of a chorus of Western support for the Israeli attack on Iran, in which numerous Western leaders all parroted a co-ordinated line about “Israel’s right of self-defence”, even as Israel conducted an entirely illegal and unprovoked attack on Iran during peace talks.
There are dozens of examples, but I give you the openly genocidal von der Leyen as one:
Spoke with President @Isaac_Herzog concerning the escalating situation in the Middle East.
I reiterated Israel’s right to defend itself and protect its people. At the same time, preserving regional stability is vital.
I urge all parties to act with maximum restraint and work…
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 13, 2025
On Thursday, before Israel attacked Iran, I attended the UN General Assembly debate on Palestine. This had limited utility as it mandated no specific measures and did not suspend Israel from the United Nations, the one truly useful action the General Assembly has the power to implement.
The motion called for an immediate ceasefire and for states to take “all necessary measures”, but that is the last we shall hear of it. It passed by 150 votes to 12, with opposition from the United States, its de facto colonies and the small far-right collection of Argentina, Paraguay etc.
But there was one interesting point in the Statements, known as Explanations of Vote, of the national delegations. These too were very routine, with Arab states that have not the slightest intention of actually doing anything, condemning Israel and western nations all launching blood-curdling condemnations of Hamas (yes, really, that was still their priority, 60,000 dead Palestinian civilians later).
But the UK explanation of vote made one point that absolutely nobody else made. It stuck out like a sore thumb. The British Ambassador to the UN stated that
“While the UK voted in favour of this resolution, we wish to clarify that our long-standing position remains that there is no legal obligation on states to ensure respect for international law by third parties.”
When the EOV was published, this part of the statement was bolstered by a reference to Common Article 1 of the Geneva Convention. I do not recall her actually saying this and it is not in my notes.
Common Article 1 (so called because it is present in every one of the Geneva Conventions) reads:
Article 1
The High Contracting Parties undertake to respect and to ensure respect for the present Convention in all circumstances.
So why did the UK, and the UK alone, say that it is not responsible for ensuring that other parties comply with international law, adding later a specific reference to the Geneva Conventions?
It is perfectly simple. Starmer and Lammy are terrified about future charges of complicity in Israeli war crimes. So the UK, only, feels it necessary to emphasise that they do not bear legal responsibility for Israel’s actions.
They claim they are not responsible for what Israel did with the supplies of UK munitions, which the UK increased to fuel the genocide.
They claim they are not responsible for what Israel did with the targeting information they gave Israel on a daily basis from RAF Akrotiri flights over Gaza.
They claim they are not responsible for the Israeli use of weapons flown in through the UK and Akrotiri.
They claim they are not responsible for use of the F-35 jets attacking Iran now, which they continue to supply with UK-manufactured spare parts.
We simply do not yet know what else they have done to support Israel based on the secret UK-Israeli defence treaty, but whatever it is, Starmer and Lammy want to make absolutely plain that the UK had no responsibility to prevent Israel from committing war crimes.
The claim that this is longstanding British policy is of course a rather frivolous bit of gaslighting. Indeed given that this argument runs completely counter to the doctrine of “the responsibility to protect” – of which the UK was the leading international proponent – it is simple nonsense.
[As it happens I always opposed the “responsibility to protect” argument because it is used as an excuse for Imperialism, cf. the destruction of Libya.]
The Genocide Convention in fact explicitly does create a duty on states to prevent genocide by third parties.
Article I of the Genocide Convention reads:
The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish.
So the declaration by Starmer and Lammy of not bearing responsibility really does not wash. The interesting thing is that they felt compelled to make it.
The evening after the debate I attended receptions hosted by both the British Ambassador and then by the Russian Ambassador, and I spoke to a large number of Ambassadors to the UN. Of course we discussed the debate, and everybody had noticed both the extraordinary and unusual addition to the UK statement and its motive.
They all specifically realised it was an effort to back away from responsibility for complicity in Israeli crimes.
I understand and share your disappointment at the collapse of international law. But I can tell you that the prospect of eventual retribution at the Hague still terrifies Starmer and Lammy.
Netanyahu’s desperate gamble in attacking Iran is an attempt to force the USA to join the war on Israel’s behalf, and to prevent peace talks.
It is of course simply untrue that Iran was about to produce a nuclear weapon. Every Spring a CIA-led US intelligence exercise formally reviews the situation, and the firm position of Five Eyes intelligence remains that Iran genuinely was not seeking to make a nuclear weapon.
I hope that Iran learns the lesson of Southern Lebanon. There, over many months, Israeli air superiority enabled them to substantially degrade missile systems of various resistance factions. Israel does – not least because of the traitors ruling Jordan and Syria – have air superiority over Iran. In a long war of attrition, Israeli bombing raids could do real damage to Iranian capabilities.
Iran’s best strategy would be to view this as the existential crisis, and seriously unload its missile capacity on Israel without restraint. The period of measured tit-for-tat reprisals is at an end. The decision of nuclear-armed Pakistan to stand behind Iran was extremely helpful. These are early days in the Israeli-Iranian war. I do not sense any popular enthusiasm in the USA to be involved. Even the mainstream American media is characterising Iranian attacks as “retaliation” and the Israeli victim card is no longer as Platinum as it used to be here in the USA.
Germany has been refuelling Israeli jets en route to attack Iran, and the UK may also have been doing so. Starmer and Macron have both expressed determination to defend Israel with their own military but both would face massive popular resistance.
We wait to see what happens next. But having lived through vicious Israeli bombardment of Beirut, having been menaced by drones in the Bekaa Valley, having stood on the line at Kfar Kila while a twelve-year-old boy was shot standing next to my producer, having witnessed 100,000 Lebanese homes destroyed, I have no sympathy left for Tel Aviv.
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Richard Madeley today repeated the claim that, Iran would seek to ‘wipe Israel off the map’ the moment they attained atomic weapons. This claim is largely based on a single speech Iran’s former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made in October 26, 2005 at a conference on “The World Without Zionism”… pro-Zionist western media have been feeding off it ever since. The translation of the speech the New York Times produced is disputed by scholars; specifically, Israel “must be eliminated from the pages of history.” The speech :
I thank God that I have had the opportunity to participate in the event today ….
We need to examine the true origins of the issue of Palestine: is it a fight between a group of Muslims and non-Jews? Is it a fight between Judaism and other religions? Is it the fight of one country with another country? Is it the fight of one country with the Arab world? Is it a fight over the land of Palestine? I guess the answer to all these questions is ‘no.’
The establishment of the occupying regime of Qods [Jerusalem]was a major move by the world oppressor [the United States] against the Islamic world. The situation has changed in this historical struggle. Sometimes the Muslims have won and moved forward and the world oppressor was forced to withdraw.
Unfortunately, the Islamic world has been withdrawing in the past 300 years. I do not want to examine the reasons for this, but only to review the history. The Islamic world lost its last defenses in the past 100 years and the world oppressor established the occupying regime. Therefore the struggle in Palestine today is the major front of the struggle of the Islamic world with the world oppressor and its fate will decide the destiny of the struggles of the past several hundred years.
The Palestinian nation represents the Islamic nation [Umma] against a system of oppression, and thank God, the Palestinian nation adopted Islamic behavior in an Islamic environment in their struggle and so we have witnessed their progress and success. I need to thank you for choosing this valuable title for the conference.
Many who are disappointed in the struggle between the Islamic world and the infidels have tried to spread the blame. They say it is not possible to have a world without the United States and Zionism. But you know that this is a possible goal and slogan.
Let’s take a step back. We had a hostile regime in this country which was undemocratic, armed to the teeth and, with SAVAK, its security apparatus of SAVAK [the intelligence bureau of the Shah of Iran’s government] watched everyone. An environment of terror existed. When our dear Imam [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder the Iranian revolution] said that the regime must be removed, many of those who claimed to be politically well-informed said it was not possible. All the corrupt governments were in support of the regime when Imam Khomeini started his movement. All the Western and Eastern countries supported the regime even after the massacre of September 7 [1978] and said the removal of the regime was not possible. But our people resisted and it is 27 years now that we have survived without a regime dependent on the United States. The tyranny of the East and the West over the world must should end, but weak people who can see only what lies in front of them cannot believe this.
Who could believe that one day we could witness the collapse of the Eastern Empire? But we have seen its fall during our lives and it collapsed in such a way that we have to refer to libraries because no trace of it is left. Imam [Khomeini] said Saddam must go and he said he would grow weaker than anyone could imagine. Now you see the man who spoke with such arrogance ten years ago that one would have thought he was immortal, is being tried in his own country in handcuffs and shackles by those who he believed supported him and with whose backing he committed his crimes.
Our dear Imam said that the occupying regime must be wiped off the map and this was a very wise statement. We cannot compromise over the issue of Palestine. Is it possible to create a new front in the heart of an old front. This would be a defeat and whoever accepts the legitimacy of this regime [Israel] has in fact, signed the defeat of the Islamic world. Our dear Imam targeted the heart of the world oppressor in his struggle, meaning the occupying regime. I have no doubt that the new wave that has started in Palestine, and we witness it in the Islamic world too, will eliminate this disgraceful stain from the Islamic world. But we must be aware of tricks.
For over 50 years the world oppressor tried to give legitimacy to the occupying regime and it has taken measures in this direction to stabilize it. About 27 or 28 years ago they took a major step and unfortunately one of the leading countries made a mistake which we hope will correct it.[an apparent reference to the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel].
Recently they [the Israelis] tried a new trick. They want to show the evacuation from the Gaza strip, which was imposed on them by Palestinians, as a final victory for the Palestinians and end the issue of Palestine with the excuse of establishing a Palestinian government next to themselves. Today, they want to involve Palestinians with mischief and trick them into fighting with one another over political positions so that they would drop the issue of Palestine.
They want to convince some of the Islamic countries that, since they evacuated the Gaza strip with good intentions, the legitimacy of their corrupt regime should be recognized. I hope Palestinian groups and people are aware of this trick.
The issue of Palestine is not over at all. It will be over the day a Palestinian government, which belongs to the Palestinian people, comes to power; the day that all refugees return to their homes; a democratic government elected by the people comes to power. Of course those who have come from far away to plunder this land have no right to choose for this nation.
I hope the Palestinian people will remain alert and aware in the same way that they have continued their struggle in the past ten years.
If we get through this brief period successfully, the path of eliminating the occupying regime will be easy and downhill.
I warn all leaders of the Islamic world that they should be aware of this trick. Anyone who recognizes this regime because of the pressure of the World oppressor, or because of naiveté or selfishness, will be eternally disgraced and will burn in the fury of the Islamic nations.
Those who are sitting in closed rooms cannot decide for the Islamic nation and cannot allow this historical enemy to exist in the heart of the Islamic world.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is President of Islamic Republic of Iran.
Goose
Yes, I remember that speech and looking at the Persian. It’s a false translation, not “Our dear Imam said that the occupying regime must be wiped off the map”, but rather the correct translation is passive, “the occupying regime will inevitably disappear”.
I don’t remember other speeches where the Israeli claim is made.
Much of Iran’s fiery rhetoric is for domestic consumption and should be viewed in that context.
I think much of what Ahmadinejad said has been borne out and has come to pass. Craig and others have hardened their positions too; recognising that the two-state solution is simply a ruse by western powers in order to buy time for the Israelis, as they import settlers from around the world, under their perverse Law of Return further expanding their territorial grip in the West Bank.
For years, the Israelis said they ‘didn’t have a partner for peace’ in Yasser Arafat, holed up as he was in his compound in Ramallah. The Palestinians elected dovish scholars, people like Mahmoud Abbas and Hanan Ashrawi – who are as moderate as the West could possibly hope for, and Israel and the collective West have given them nothing for their anger containment efforts in the West Bank.
Starmer and Lammy are helping Israel to wipe Gaza off the map.
Not talking about it .. doing it.
Madeley and co have all known that very well, every day and with news of every fresh atrocity in the Genocide.
Trump’s even worse…
He tells the media, he was informed of the attacks in advance, calls them “excellent” and explains that his negotiations were a ruse to lull the Iranians into a false sense of security, allowing Israel the maximum element of surprise.
Then he talks about how he hopes the negotiations can continue. and he’s sure that a deal is imminent.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo ‘s Nest certifiable stuff.
I’d be amazed if Iran doesn’t pull out of the NPT.
Trump’s idea of a “deal” has always been to crush the other side. In other words the fool doesn’t understand what “deal” means. It wouldn’t surprise me if all his life he’s done business as a flunky of people who are far more intelligent than himself, and far richer, and who let him take the limelight and collect a few pennies (when he’s not in the bankruptcy court) while they themselves stay in the shadows.
Goose
As a UK citizen, knowing everything you do about Starmer and Lammy’s role in the Gaza Genocide what do you think should happen to them?
It doesn’t matter what we think, because everything in the UK is built around shielding the elite from consequences. Look at Blair and Scarlett regarding the illegal Iraq invasion, which was built on lies.
Look at Cameron, allegedly threatening the ICC over the issuance of arrest warrants. Who was he acting/speaking on behalf of?
These decisions likely have very little to do with Lammy and Starmer, they are just functionaries following orders. There has to be some cabal or grouping somewhere pulling the strings. We’ve got things like the Privy Council, and there are probably sub-groupings + officialdom, that we don’t even know about. The monarchy is probably more influential that our constitution suggests too, the elite can hide behind residual Royal powers – the Royal prerogative. It’s likely why William has spent time at MI5,MI6; GCHQ etc despite no discernible need for him to be there.
We’d need PR and a written constitution to sort this unaccountable mess out. Or independence if Scottish.
Even if that were correct, it doesn’t stop you giving your opinion on what should happen to Starmer and Lammy.
They themselves clearly do fear consequences. Hence the attempt to claim they are not legally responsible for what the Israelis do with everything the British Government has furnished them with throughout this Genocide. Likewise their 11th-hour gesture sanctions on select settlers and politicians, heralded by the media while they suppress Britain’s ongoing participation in the Genocide.
PR would not sort anything out as you can plainly see from Germany and from the uniting of Britain’s political and media class against Corbyn.
So, Hague or not if you had your way?
I’m just being realistic.
Look at the wider political environment in the UK. Reform are poised to capitalise as Labour decline, and Farage is aping Trump, in being even more pro-Israel than the godawful Badenoch. On which, I honestly think the reason why Reform aren’t being challenged by the media is because the establishment know that the Tories and Reform can ultimately merge, if necessary; becoming the Conservative & Reform party, preserving the two-party system that enables so much of what is wrong with UK foreign policy.
So, I don’t see a route to hold them accountable through politics, and a purely performative citizen’s arrest attempt, like that attempted on Robert Mugabe by Peter Tatchell, would be futile too, as no one could even approach them.
Infidel? Is that who the infidel is?
Israel should be wiped off the map, like the Confederacy, Rhodesia, and French Algeria all were.
Iran should seriously consider closing the Straits of Hormuz, let’s see how quickly support for Israel evaporates
The Straits will be closed if the US starts bombing Iran, but not if they stay out. If the US stays out, Iran doesn’t need to close the strait.
They could possibly close one of the Straits, but not all of them.
Also, there’s a deal with the Donald, who never read the Geneva Conventions (he has much better things to do) but can read a Bank Statement. And that’s what matters under the sun.
Hormuz is so narrow, you could close it with a cannon. No great effort or equipment is required.
Iran needs to bring a surprise, as George Habash did with plane hijackings in 1970.
Could even be outside the region.
Apparently, only 1 in 10, or 10% of Iranian missiles are getting through.
Since long-range missiles and drones are Iran’s only real form of offensive capability – as they have no real air force – it seems incredible to me that Iran didn’t have multiple sleeper cells in Israel, ready for the command to degrade the Iron Dome defences and disable the two US operated THAAD systems. It would have probably been a one-way suicide mission; but this is a war, and the victors are usually those prepared to sacrifice. In WW2, the chances of returning from the bombing missions over Germany was less than 25%! as my family knows. Iran and other countries could learn a thing or two from Israel’s willingness to sacrifice.
Ukrainians, assuming it was Ukrainians(?), recently put their lives on the line in Russia. I’d wager China and Russia have had a real wake-up call.
Units that are well-trained in drone assembly and use, having repeatedly practiced/perfected these covert missions, I’d imagine, are the future of warfare. If you can disable a large part of your adversary’s capability(billions of dollars of equipment) before the shooting even starts, the battle is half won.
Has there ever been a single Israeli or Jewish suicide attack?
Everything they do in Gaza reeks of cowardice.
“Apparently, only 1 in 10, or 10% of Iranian missiles are getting through.”
Where are you getting that information from? Israel is not allowing reports of damage. This is just news management.
If you look at some of the private citizen videos which came out before the clamp-down on such, you will see within the space of a few seconds multiple strikes on Israeli land, often with secondary explosions from a direct hit. Multiply those few seconds into hours – what do you get?
Iran didn’t want war. Iran trusted to the agreement that Russia would defend it if Israel attacked it first, just as Russia would defend Israel if Iran was to attack Israel. Yes, they participated in proxy wars, and Iranian mothers lamented that their sons were dying in Yemen and Syria, but were told that if they didn’t keep on top of threats outside their borders they would have to fight them inside their borders. Iran and Russia abided by the agreements they made with other nations. Israel really is such a rogue state that it cannot make agreements and actually mean what they say. Iran has been caught when it is still believing in peaceful resolutions that would keep its citizens safe.
Friends of Israel control both our main political parties. The control is integrated in our national infrastructure.
GPS drone defence practice is happening around our coasts today, even as we speak. Is it for us? Elbit has bought former MOD land, for its factories and research development. We are enmeshed. But we didn’t suspect there might come a time when we would have to choose between war crimes and humanity. This moment approaches and parliament needs to stand up and be accountable to the country they have been elected by the electorate to serve.
Nothing like a good sex scandal (grooming gang inquiry announcement) to divert the attention of the masses from having to think about their government’s being complicit in genocide, being persistent breakers of international law, driving to take the country into war, maybe even, getting the disabled to make bombs as part of the war effort.
Once again the terrorist settler regime is using a religious name for its military operation, in this case “rising lion”. Operation Rising Lion, which is what they’re calling their aggression against Iran, takes its name from the Book of Numbers 23:24:
“The people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till it devours its prey and drinks the blood of its victims.”
Note to MSM journalists: don’t mention this – it’s more than your jobs are worth and you’ll be denounced as “anti-Semitic” and purveyors of blood libel.
It’s reported that Arab Israelis are complaining because their areas only have ‘cursory, very basic’ defences, no Iron Dome for them. And some of the shelters are now ‘Jews only’, with far east Asian guest workers refused entry.
MI6’s new chief says she wants to defend British values, are these the type of values we defend?
The press have dubbed Blaise Metreweli, the gadget expert. Wonder what she made of Netanyahu leaving a covert listening device in No.10’s toilet? Is that the behaviour of an ally? If so, who needs adversaries.
Do you still not accept that Britain has been facilitating the mass murder of the people of Gaza for a year and a half?
Perhaps Metreweli is thinking of the siege of Mafeking, where most of the people besieged were black and the British made sure they got smaller rations.
Or she could be thinking of how the disgusting British regime continues to run its segregated “health” and “education” systems.
Actually, they sound like very British values (especially if you are a coloured immigrant, or even just an immigrant).
Can’t confirm – but if true no more visits from the IAEA and the Israeli puppet Rafael Grossi
“Iranian Parliament have just voted to withdraw from Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”
Hard to believe Russia and China will have nothing to say about the total failure of the IAEA system. The agency is supposed to report to both the Security Council and the General Assembly. But it appears to have helped one regime bomb nuclear installations in another country. The probability is almost zero that Russia and China okayed that – or that they are okay with it after the event.
I wonder why the IRGC hasn’t been proscribed as a terrorist organisation?
Just to be clear, I don’t agree with proscription orders, as they basically amount to an attack on free thought, and free speech. Imho they’re an abuse of power often deployed simply to close down debate and limit what those opposing official policy can say.
The thing is though, this Labour govt are clearly censorious and they urged IRGC proscription in opposition. The Tony Blair institute; most of the UK’s huge Israel lobby and various neocon thinktanks e.g. Henry Jackson Society et al, have all been pressing for proscription. If implemented, it would probably change what people are allowed to say here, and more widely online, as per the proscription orders against Hamas and Hezbollah.
We are told, that reason the govt – Yvette Cooper- hasn’t followed through on her promise, is due to fears it would lead to a mutual expulsion of diplomats in Tehran and London. Maybe Craig knows more?
Brian Red.
Yes I think Russia and China openly denounced the attack on Iran – I don’t know if this is true.
“Israel has asked Iran, through western mediators, to stop its retaliatory attacks and return to nuclear negotiations with the United States, American media report.
The Israeli regime is openly threatening Tehran, while secretly reaches out to the Islamic Republic to stop the war, according to the American broadcast television network NBC that quoted a senior Iranian source in Tehran as saying on Monday that Tel Aviv has made the demand through Western countries as intermediaries.
A representative for Israel’s prime minister refused to immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
Using his social media platform Truth Social, US President Donald Trump suggested on Sunday that Iran and Israel will end their violent conflict by “making a deal” through his mediation.
“We will have peace, soon, between Israel and Iran. Many calls and meetings now taking place,” he said.”
And Iranian missiles took out Israel’s facility that produces jet fuel in Haifa – and around the same time 24 US refuelling airborne tankers left the United States heading in the direction of Israel.
Brian this is said to be the Israeli jet fuel facility – and its fully ablaze – also some reports of British refuelling airborne tankers in Cyprus.
https://nitter.poast.org/MonitorX99800/status/1934588234446823880#m
And this as well.
“32 Refueling Tankers with their respective Fighter Squadrons are on STAND BY in Europe, the Middle East & Asia Pacific for Trump’s Orders – Reuters confirmed.”
I’m sure that’s right, the Haifa jet fuel production capacity is gone. and the arrival of numbers of airborne tankers is to compensate. It was originally thought the tankers were intended to supply US air strikes, but I’m no longer convinced. So where does that leave the prospective US attack? Are there enough tankers to supply both Israel and US attacks? Or is some military going to take Trump aside and tell him this is going to be a catastrophe if you go ahead with the attack?
In addition of course they’ll all be landing at Akrotiri to refuel. That’ll look good for Starmer, I don’t think – forced to admit we’re supporting Israel’s unprovoked aggression against Iran.
“But I can tell you that the prospect of eventual retribution at the Hague still terrifies Starmer and Lammy.”
You certainly can, but then what are the thousands of innocent civilians under the threat of missiles, whether in Tehran or Tel Aviv, supposed to feel like? Exhilarated?
As you admit yourself, just being a little NEAR the epicenter of pain, in a B&B or hotel room in Beirut, was a source of lasting trauma. Just imagine what it’s like for real victims…
And if that comes as a surprise, I’m sure Starmer and Lammy have already booked their forthcoming vacation in the “West Indies”. Why would they feel more threatened by justice than Blair and so many others?
It may be nothing. Why did UK EUUs get updated on 7/10/24 to remove reference to SPIRE (see gov.uk)
Russian intelligence (SVR) on planned British state provocations:
https://tass.com/politics/1973777
“”The SVR of Russia has received information that the British-Ukrainian terrorist tandem is preparing new acts of sabotage,” the document says. “The main goals of these subversive actions are to escalate the Ukrainian conflict, disrupt the US-Russian negotiation process and convince the White House to continue providing Kiev with full-scale military support.”
According to information obtained by the SVR, the Ukrainians and the Britons are currently organizing a provocation in the Baltic Sea waters.
“One of the scenarios involves staging an alleged Russian torpedo attack against US Navy ship. Soviet/Russian-made torpedoes have already been transferred by the Ukrainian side to the British. According to the plan, some of the torpedoes will detonate at a ‘safe distance’ from the ship, and one will fail and will be presented to the public as evidence of Russia’s ‘malicious activity.’ The Ukrainian law enforcers are ready to take over the execution of the plot,” the document says.
Another Ukrainian-UK scenario envisages “accidental fishing out of Russian-made anchor mines in the Baltic Sea, allegedly planted for sabotage on the international sea lane, with the help of accomplices from Northern European countries.” “
The thing about this kind of op is that the Whitehall committee that tasks the SBS or other unit with supplying the torpedo detonation “at a safe distance” may find that someone is calling the shots who makes sure it actually doesn’t happen safely
… doesn’t happen safely, quite the contrary, and then for some reason there’s a lot of high-fiving at the Israeli embassy.
Could WW3 start like this? Yes.