- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

'Specifically Designed to Provoke'? Trump's 'Outrageous' Iran Move May Backfire

© REUTERS / Jim Lo Scalzo/PoolU.S. President Donald Trump delivers his first address to a joint session of Congress from the floor of the House of Representatives iin Washington, U.S., February 28, 2017
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his first address to a joint session of Congress from the floor of the House of Representatives iin Washington, U.S., February 28, 2017 - Sputnik International
Subscribe
US President Donald Trump appears to be setting the stage for new sanctions on Iran, despite Secretary of State Rex Tillerson telling Congress earlier this week that Iran is in compliance with the 2015 nuclear arms deal negotiated by Barack Obama.

Massoud Shadjareh, executive director of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, pointed out on Radio Sputnik that, while the deal has ensured safety and security and it has been confirmed by all regulators that Iran has complied with the commitments, the sanctions haven't in fact been lifted fully.  

"It is very puzzling that… the US administration wants to reopen and sort of meddle with something that is actually working," he told Loud & Clear host Brian Becker.

"It just doesn't make sense, unless it is specifically designed to provoke and to create conflict between Iran and US administration."

Broadening sanctions would reflect Trump's desire to fulfil his campaign promise about "being tough on Iran," as he repeatedly called the agreement "the worst deal ever negotiated."

U.S. President Donald Trump reacts to a question from reporters during a lengthy news conference at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 16, 2017. - Sputnik International
Trump Claims Iran Not Living Up to Spirit of Nuclear Agreement
"I think it is part of a dangerous trend we see in the Trump presidency of adopting a very aggressive posture that's threatening more wars and more confrontations," added Jeremy Kuzmarov, professor of history at the University of Tulsa.

"I think we are seeing Trump doctrine as very… aggressive, just like the man himself, and this is very dangerous for the rest of the world, it's threatening conflicts and undermining diplomacy when it was successful."

Secretary of State Tillerson wrote in a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan late on Tuesday that Iran remains a "leading state sponsor of terror, through many platforms and methods," and that the National Security Council-led interagency review will evaluate whether the sanctions relief granted Iran through the deal is in in fact in the US national interest.

"It would be a perversion of term ‘national security,' we've seen that term perverted over and over again. Undermining diplomacy and alienating your allies is not solidating anybody's security," Kuzmarov said.

"It threatens leaving the United States increasingly isolated… as they are abandoning their allies and going against international norms in egregious way."

Shadjareh agreed that the US' approach could backfire and wreck the consensus among the countries that negotiated the deal.

​"What we are seeing confirms that… national interest and national security seen by Trump and his administration has got nothing to do with the issue of stopping Iran becoming a nuclear weapon holder," he claimed.

"It's trying to control Iran for the benefit of friends, be it Saudi Arabia or Israel, which is really quite outrageous and indeed it will backfire if it's continued."  

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала