Instability Abounds; Gold , Silver break records plus Iran & Syria

Silver passed $100.00 US an ounce-hitting $103.00

Gold is nearing $5,000.00 an ounce US – Hitting $4964.00 today

And Trump is stating he has quite a force ready to hit Iran

Atlantic Council

We’re watching Iran,” US President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday as he returned from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We have a big flotilla going in that direction, and we’ll see what happens.” For the past week, a US carrier strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln has proceeded west from the South China Sea to the Persian Gulf near Iran. 

1. What are Trump’s options in Iran?

We are in unprecedented territory. Prior to Operation Midnight Hammer in June, the United States had never directly attacked Iran. The United States spent years developing the technology and expertise necessary to successfully carry out an operation against Iran’s nuclear program. Initiating strikes to protect protesters is an entirely different set of targets and objectives that are likely being developed in real time.

As the USS Abraham Lincoln enters the region, Trump likely has a range of options that fall into following broad categories. 

• Symbolic strikes: This could include strikes on conventional targets, such as Iran’s nuclear or missile program. While these strikes would do little to tangibly help the protesters, it will ensure that nobody can accuse the president of drawing “red lines” and then ignoring them.

• Strikes targeting the security apparatus: Trump likely has intelligence on a range of facilities and personnel connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, law enforcement forces, and the paramilitary Basij militia that may be connected to the crackdown on the protest movement.
• Economic targets: During confrontations between Iran and Israel over the past year, there was speculation that Israel might attack Iranian economic targets. This could include oil export terminals, such as Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, as well as critical natural gas infrastructure. Such an operation would be risky and could impact energy markets, but it would also get the attention of a government that is teetering on the brink of economic collapse.

There were no mass protestors- There were mass armed destabilizers mass killing citizens including beheadings. Using weapons transferred through Iraq with the help of US and Israel. And lots of Starlink terminals supplied by Pentagon contractor Musk. There is lots going on in N/E Syria- with reports of the US flying ISIS fighters into Iraq. They may stay there? They may head into Iran? Hard to say?

Musk’s Starlink in Iran

Starlink is banned in Iran, yet tens of thousands of terminals may have been smuggled into the country, although it remains unclear how many are in use, according to Holistic Resilience, a US nonprofit that has helped deliver Starlink terminals to Iranians and says it is working with SpaceX to monitor what it describes as Iranian attempts to jam the system.

It seems Iran confiscated an untold but quite large number of these- It’s likely another nation ( Perhaps China?) helped Iran to locate these terminals.