President Trump said Friday: “In the event we are not able to reach a solution working with Congress and our allies, then the agreement will be terminated.”
Then Haley said Sunday: “I think right now you are going to see us stay in the deal. What we hope is that we can improve the situation. And that’s the goal. So I think right now, we’re in the deal to see how we can make it better. And that’s the goal. It’s not that we’re getting out of the deal. We’re just trying to make the situation better so that the American people feel safer.”
The statements of Trump and Haley do not contradict one another. This is, however, a truly monstrous deal. Find the details of just how bad it is in my book The Complete Infidel’s Guide to Iran. If Trump can’t get the most egregious elements of the deal altered, he should stick to his guns and scrap it.
“Nikki Haley: US to ‘stay’ in Iran nuke deal, aim to ‘make it better,’” Times of Israel, October 16, 2017 (thanks to Ken):
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said on Sunday that the US would “stay” in the Iranian nuclear agreement, but “aim to make it better.”
Her comments came two days after US President Donald Trump announced that he would not recertify the landmark 2015 agreement to Congress and would roll out a more hawkish approach toward Tehran.
“I think right now you are going to see us stay in the deal,” Haley said during an interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press.”
“What we hope is that we can improve the situation,” she added. “And that’s the goal. So I think right now, we’re in the deal to see how we can make it better. And that’s the goal. It’s not that we’re getting out of the deal. We’re just trying to make the situation better so that the American people feel safer,” she said.
“What we’re trying to say is, ‘Look, the agreement was an incentive. The agreement was for you to stop doing certain things,’” Haley said in reference to Iran. “You haven’t stopped doing certain things. So what do we do to make Iran more accountable so that they do?”
Trump, Haley said, will be working “very closely with Congress to try and come up with something that is more proportionate.”
Haley is said to have been a vocal proponent of decertification and played an important role in the US’s new approach toward Iran. A Politico report over the weekend called her “Trump’s Iran whisperer” and said she “paved the way for decertification as other Cabinet members urged caution.”
In a much-anticipated speech on Friday, Trump said he would not recertify the Iranian nuclear deal, while not withdrawing from the pact — signed by the P5+1 powers and Iran in 2015 — and was launching a tougher strategy to check Iran’s “fanatical regime.”
He warned that the deal could be terminated at any time.
“We cannot and will not make this certification,” he said. “We will not continue down a path whose predictable conclusion is more violence, more terror and the very real threat of Iran’s nuclear breakout.”…
“However, in the event we are not able to reach a solution working with Congress and our allies, then the agreement will be terminated,” Trump said, in a televised address from the Diplomatic Room of the White House. “It is under continuous review and our participation can be canceled by me as president at any time,” he warned.
He added later, speaking of Congress, “They may come back with something that’s very satisfactory to me, and if they don’t, within a very short period of time, I’ll terminate the deal.”…
Keys says
What are the chances that Iran is now (and will be even after a more restrictive renegotiated deal) having North Korea make its weapons grade nuclear material ? Nuclear material for oil, food, etc.
Seems very likely to me they are already sharing/selling/buying technology and probably more (biological weapons, etc.) with each other all aimed at the annihilation of the USA.
Who is inspecting that? The Chinese ? Huh !
Is there anyone who does not believe that Iran is not actively planning and acting on plans to annihilate Israel and the USA ?
eduardo odraude says
Virtually no chance Iran will let the deal be improved in the ways necessary. and the Trump admin of course knows that. This effort “to make the deal better” is in part a negotiation technique — I don’t mean a negotiation technique with Iran, I mean with public opinion. For public opinion to consent to Trump going to war on Iran, he must be seen to do whatever is possible first to avoid war. If he does not at least try to make the deal adequate, he knows it will be politically impossible or very difficult to go to war on Iran. In fact it will be politically very difficult no matter what he does, since significant parts of the population are not merely opposed to Trump, but a bit deranged about him, apparently thinking him a Nazi and KKKer rolled into one. While I think that is ridiculous, I do think his character might be something to be concerned about. On the other hand, his energy and competence seem confirmed with every passing day… so far.
eduardo odraude says
addendum: Since a war with Iran might mean tremendous global destabilization, huge numbers of casualties, and unforeseeable disasters, I’ve no doubt the Trump admin is sincerely trying to fix the deal, even while recognizing the unlikelihood of success in doing so.
In significant part because of North Korea, the world has recently become more dangerous than it has been in a long time. Millions may die, no matter what actions the US takes. If the US does not stop North Korea, that government may well proliferate missile and nuke technology to other nations that are prepared to engage in aggressive first use. This has already taken place to some extent between North Korea and Iran. But if the US does try to remove the North Korean government, the dictator there could kill millions with his hydrogen bomb or bombs. His missiles might even be able to reach the U.S. So the situation is a near impossible one. One key question now is whether US military technology currently in process of development will be able somehow, in concert with new strategies, to master the situation.
gravenimage says
I don’t think we necessarily have to go to war with Iran–just stop enabling them to gain a nuclear program, as this “nuke deal” is doing.
Voytek Gagalka says
Once again, “middle of the road” attitude. Good luck with that! But it will NEVER work, as it never worked before. Compromise on moral grounds is ALWAYS bad, as only evil can profit from it. And “compromise” sends terrible signal of weakness of one’s position. Be absolutely certain that if no one will notice that, the Iranian theocratic regime will.
SAM says
It is really scary that we are run by people who can not and will not identify the enemy and call it by its name. ISLAM.
Carlos Danger says
Make it better…. and here I’ve always been convinced that you can’t polish a turd.
I wonder about leftists says
The trouble nowadays is, that you are dealing with people WHO WANT WAR’ !!! That is why the muslims go till the bitter end, they are (still) laughing and with people like that you can not reason. If you have 2 parties who are reasonable with each other, there are always possibilities. It does not exist with Muslims, North Koreans and a few more, that’s why they will push to the end. First we have to get very afraid of them and a lot of people have, the ordinary people are not used to threatenings like that, so it does not exist, but it does, so don’t be afraid or fearful. they thrive on that and go further and further. And you should have never done that from the beginning on. That is why they have such a big mouth. They know that you are scared for war and push you to the limit and people were stupid enough and scared enough obviously, wanting to be blind, not sleeping, but wanting to be blind and hope the best out of it. But you took to long time to act blind. Muslims know you and you refused to know them, which will hit you later. Before you could have handled it without a war, but now………. who knows, it all depend what people decide.
But after you die, you always come back and learn again from other stupidities, I myself do not like it that way, but I know there is no other way, so always think for yourselves, very important.
gravenimage says
You are right–we in the West are so used to dealing with rational people that many here cannot even recognize that Muslims are not just the same.
Mike9a says
Why the man who put us in this nonsense situtation with Iran “deal” are not behind bars? Starting with: hussein comunity organizer and then the rest of the clan.
Define Islamophobia: common sense saying or writing.
Guest says
It seems I must remind some people that Trump can’t cancel the nuke deal. That’s not the president’s job. It’s Congress ‘s job. If we want the deal gone then vote for Congressmen who will vote for the deal to be appealed. Despite what many are lead to believe. The President doesn’t control the entire government and for good reason. If he could Obama would have taken our guns, controlled businesses and much worse