Trump and Netanyahu call descended into ‘shouting match from hell’ in clash over Iran war
Findings are available in the analysis below.1 finding
We do not republish articles from The Independent. Our findings are below, each quoting the words it is about. Read the full article on the outlet's own site.
In its own voice The Independent writes of 'threats by Tehran' to bomb US bases and widen the conflict to US allies, and says an Iranian official 'threatened to expand the conflict to Europe'. The only Iranian statement it quotes is conditional: Mohsen Rezaei said Iran might target American military bases in European countries if the US attacked Iran. The article prints that quote straight after, so the gap is small.
Strips the condition from a threat
Minor
“threats by Tehran to bomb US bases and to expand the conflict beyond the Middle East to the country’s allies”
Why this matters
In its own voice, The Independent sets the call against 'threats by Tehran to bomb US bases' and to widen the conflict to US allies. It gives no condition.
The impression it gives
A reader takes Iran to be threatening to attack US bases and allied countries on its own initiative, while Washington weighs diplomacy.
The context
The only Iranian statement the article reports is conditional. Rezaei said Iran would act 'if the Americans make a mistake and attack us'. He named American military bases in Europe, not the allied countries themselves.
How we know
Elsewhere in the article“If the Americans make a mistake and attack us”
Elsewhere in the article“target some American military bases in European countries”
“an Iranian official threatened to expand the conflict to Europe”
Why this matters
This sentence leads into the article's closing passage. It turns a warning about US bases in Europe, given in response to a possible US attack, into a threat to take the conflict 'to Europe'.
The impression it gives
A reader is left at the end of the piece believing Iran threatens Europe itself.
The context
Rezaei spoke of possibly targeting 'some American military bases in European countries', and only if the US attacked Iran first.
How we know
Elsewhere in the article“we will not limit ourselves to nearby bases”
Elsewhere in the article“some American military bases in European countries”