Is the Middle East on the brink of another war?

BEIRUT: Moments after President Trump announced the US pull out from the nuclear agreement with Iran and tough new sanctions against the Islamic Republic, Israeli's carried out fresh air raids on an Iranian military position inside Syria raising the specter of war in the already volatile region.

The official Syrian Arab News Agency reported that Israeli jets struck Al-Kiswa, located near eight miles south of Damascus, claiming Syrian air defenses downed two incoming missiles.  

In Israel the military authorities began preparing for war. Within two hours of the president's statement, Israel called up reserve troops with the air defense, military intelligence and Home Front Command. The Israeli army said in a statement that after detecting "unusual movements of Iranian forces" in Syria, it had ordered northern Golan Heights communities, which lie on the border with Syria, to open their air raid shelters.

According to The Jerusalem Post Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman held security meetings with heads of defense at Kirya Military Headquarters in Tel Aviv.

The development came soon after US President Donald Trump defied the pleas of his European allies and pulled the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal - a decision that has drawn fury from Tehran, regret from Europe and cheers from Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump's decision as did another US ally Saudi Arabia.

Saudi ambassador to the United States said the kingdom fully supported the measures taken by Mr Trump.

"With regards to the deal, we are on auto pilot heading towards a mountain," jubilant Khalid bin Salman, the brother of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and kingdom's ambassador in Washington, said in a series of tweets.

The quick embrace of Trump's announcement on Tuesday reflects a sense of vindication by Saudi Arabia, which has pushed Washington to take seriously Tehran's military programme.

State television reported about Saudis rejoicing at the announcement, tweeting photos of Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with comments like "We prevailed", "Game over", and "Action, not words".

The landmark agreement was signed in July 2015 after almost two years of intensive talks involving Iran and the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany. Under the deal, Iran pulled the plug on its military nuclear program in return for the lifting of debilitating sanctions.

Hours before Trump's statements, officials from Britain, France, Germany and the European Union's foreign policy service met Iran's deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, in Brussels and emphasized their support for the deal.

The Trump move marked a profound rupture with the United Nations and with the deal's other signatories, including Britain, France and Germany, and threatened to become the biggest fracture in transatlantic relations in a generation.

European leaders reacted with dismay but determination.

Seconds after Trump made the announcement, French President Emmanuel Macron, who tried to sway the American leader to maintain the deal during a visit to Washington last month, tweeted his disappointment.

In a joint statement issued moments later, Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed "regret and concern" over Trump's announcement to withdraw from the deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

"Together we underline our continued support in favor of the JCPoA. This agreement represents a particular importance for our common security. We would remind people that the JCPoA was endorsed unanimously by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 2231."

It continued: "We appeal to all parties to continue to fully comply and to act in a spirit of responsibility. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran continues to conform to the restrictions laid down in the JCPoA and its obligations under the nuclear arms nonproliferation treaty. The security of the world is strengthened by this."

The statement went on to ask the United States to ensure that the structure of the deal remains in place "and to avoid any measure that would prevent their being adhered to by other parties."

Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, said there would be a "united European approach" to Trump's decision. He said European Union leaders would address the issues of the Iran deal and sanctions at a summit next week.

In a hard-hitting and defiant statement, Federica Mogherini, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said at a news conference that the U.S. decision would not only hurt Iran but also hit "crucial benefits" for the EU. She added that the EU was "fully committed" to the deal.

"I am particularly worried about the announcement tonight of new sanctions. I will consult very closely with all our partners in the coming hours and days to assess the implications," Mogherini said.

Following EU reaction, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the Islamic Republic would remain in the deal for now and open negotiations with the remaining signatories about preserving it.

"If we can guarantee our interests, we will save the JCPoA," he said in a televised speech shortly after Trump spoke. But Rouhani warned that he had ordered two Iranian atomic energy organizations to be ready to resume industrial-scale nuclear enrichment in weeks, if the negotiations are not successful.

"I am sorry for the American people, who are a great people but unfortunately administrated by people who are not wise," Rouhani said.

Investigative journalist Gareth Porter, who specializes in US national security policy, suggested ina TV interview that US decision has raised the possibility of war.

"I definitely think the danger of war has suddenly increased because of the announcement by Donald Trump and the plan that they have at this moment is certainly uncertain," Porter said. 

"Whether they do have a plan is doubtful and what we do know is that Trump is working on a game plan that was closely scripted in conjunction with, if not written by, [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu himself."

"It sounded, certainly in the early part of the speech, as though it was something that was scripted by Netanyahu because he gave unqualified applause to what Netanyahu did last week... in his bizarre, from my point of view, presentation of the idea that... Israeli commandos had captured half a ton of secret military documents on a covert nuclear weapons research program that were hidden in plain sight in Tehran without any security whatsoever," he continued.

Hinting that the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia are engaged in a "coordinated" strategy against Iran, Porter, who is also the author of "Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare," pointed out a December 2017 meeting that involved top US and Israeli officials.