“In an hourlong meeting last week, according to The New York Times, Trump spent 55 minutes telling some of his highest-ranking national security advisers that he wanted to abandon the Iran deal. Defense Secretary James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and national security adviser H.R. McMaster convinced the president to maintain the agreement for now.”
Fire them, Mr. President, and do what you promised to do. You were right that this is the most disastrous deal an American President ever concluded. End it.
“Trump administration unveils new Iran sanctions,” by Katie Bo Williams, The Hill, July 18, 2017:
The Trump administration on Tuesday unveiled a new slate of economic sanctions against Iran over its ballistic missile program and destabilizing actions in the region, the day after announcing that it will grudgingly recertify Tehran’s compliance with the nuclear agreement reached under former President Obama.
The U.S. Treasury Department designated 16 entities and individuals for supporting “illicit Iranian actors or transnational criminal activity,” according to a statement.
Some of those targeted had supported the Iranian military or Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by developing drones, fast attack boats and other military equipment. Others stole U.S. and western software programs, which were sold to the Iranian government, according to the statement.
The State Department separately designated two organizations involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program.
“This Administration will continue to aggressively target Iran’s malign activity, including their ongoing state support of terrorism, ballistic missile program, and human rights abuses,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.
The sanctions, he said, “send a strong signal that the United States cannot and will not tolerate Iran’s provocative and destabilizing behavior. We will continue to target the IRGC and pressure Iran to cease its ballistic missile program and malign activities in the region.”
The administration is required to certify to Congress every 90 days that Tehran is sticking to the terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement — a move that Trump made Monday, his second time since taking office.
But the president has expressed deep ambivalence about the agreement, which he repeatedly vowed to tear up on the campaign trail, and senior officials reportedly had to talk him into Monday’s announcement.
In an hourlong meeting last week, according to The New York Times, Trump spent 55 minutes telling some of his highest-ranking national security advisers that he wanted to abandon the Iran deal. Defense Secretary James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and national security adviser H.R. McMaster convinced the president to maintain the agreement for now….