5-9-18

THE Middle East is on the brink of a massive arms race that could spark an apocalyptic WW3 clash following the US’s decision to pull out of the controversial Iran nuclear deal, a top Jordan official has claimed.

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PM to meet Putin hours after alleged Israeli strike on Iranian base south of Damascus, as Russia warns of consequences of nuke deal pullout

PLUS

Citing Israeli intelligence, president Trump slams ‘defective’ pact, promises ‘highest level of economic sanction’ on Tehran

Iran nuclear deal: Tehran ready to resume nuclear activities after Trump pulls USA out – DAILY NEWS

Source Daily News

Iranian Lawmakers Shout “Death to America” and Burn Paper U.S. Flag at Parliament

Source Jim Yackel

Replacing the Iranian regime is the real endgame here: Yaron Brook

Source Fox Business

Context BH Capital Management Director of Research Yaron Brook on the Iran nuclear deal and the future of Dodd-Frank.

Bolton: ‘I Think Iran Is Bringing Us Closer to War’ With Their Belligerent Activity

Source Washington Free Beacon

World leaders react to US decision to exit Iran deal

Source Fox News

France, Germany and the U.K. had urged President Trump not to withdraw from Iran nuclear deal, while Israel had opposed the deal from the start; Rich Edson reports from the State Department.

Middle East on edge of HUGE arms race as Trump kills Iran nuke deal – DAILY NEWS

Source Daily News

Iranian president slams Trump’s decision to exit nuclear deal

Source CBS News

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivered a national address from Tehran shortly after President Trump announced the U.S. will leave the 2015 nuclear deal that lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for Iran abandoning its nuclear program. Rouhani said Iran would negotiate with other countries that are party to the deal. Watch his address here.

What Happens Now That Trump Killed Iran Deal?

Source Wochit News

President Donald Trump pulled us out of the Iran Nuclear deal. Experts say the decision will make it harder for Iran to engage with the international community. The movie could also empower hard-liners in Tehran. What happens next? The U.S. will reimpose sanctions on Iran. The White House must allow between 90 and 180 days before imposing sanctions. Iran has already responded by burning the U.S. flag on the floor of their parliament. Iran can now restart it’s nuclear program.

Iran’s top leader, lawmakers lash out at US on nuclear deal

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader chastised President Donald Trump on Wednesday over his decision to pull America out of the 2015 nuclear deal, while lawmakers lit a paper U.S. flag on fire inside parliament, shouting, “Death to America!”

The government backlash reflected broad public anger in Iran over Trump’s decision, which threatens to destroy the landmark agreement. While Iranian officials, including the parliament speaker, say they hope Europe will work with them to preserve the deal, many are pessimistic.

In comments before school teachers, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Trump: “You cannot do a damn thing!” The exhortation from Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, follows a pattern of Iranian leaders declaring their nation’s ability to resist foreign pressure or interference.

Khamenei described Trump’s speech Tuesday announcing his decision as having “over 10 lies,” without elaborating on them. He also said Trump’s remarks threatened both Iran’s people and its theocratic government.

“The body of this man, Trump, will turn to ashes and become the food of the worms and ants, while the Islamic Republic continues to stand,” Khamenei said.

Earlier Wednesday, the lawmakers, including a Shiite cleric, held the flaming flag alight as their colleagues joined their chants. They also burned a piece of paper representing the nuclear deal and stomped on the papers’ ashes.

While U.S. flag-burning is common in Iran and harsh criticism of America has been a staple of Iranian parliamentary politics for years, it was the first time political observers could remember anything being burned inside the parliament itself.

The 2015 agreement imposed restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in return for the lifting of most U.S. and international sanctions.

However, the deal came with time limits and did not address Iran’s ballistic missile program or its support for militant groups across the region branded as terrorists by the West. Trump has repeatedly pointed to those omissions in referring to the accord as the “worst deal ever.” Proponents of the deal have said those time limits were meant to encourage more discussion with Iran in the future that could eventually address other concerns.

Late Tuesday night, President Hassan Rouhani said he’d be sending Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to the countries still in the deal — China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom.

Iran hopes the European Union will pass laws to protect European firms from any potential U.S. sanctions. EU officials have suggested they’ll do what they can to salvage the agreement.

Still, Rouhani made a point of stressing that Iran, at any time, could resume its nuclear program.

“If necessary, we can begin our industrial enrichment without any limitations,” the Iranian leader said. “Until implementation of this decision, we will wait for some weeks and will talk with our friends and allies and other signatories of the nuclear deal, who signed it and who will remain loyal to it. Everything depends on our national interests.”

After the flag burning, parliament speaker Ali Larijani said responsibility for saving the deal fell on the EU and other world powers still in the accord.

“The period is only a window in which the EU can prove if it has enough weight for settling international issues,” he said.

Larijani also urged the country’s nuclear agency to prepare for “resumption of all aspects of nuclear activities.”

Khamenei questioned whether Europe had the will or the ability to save the nuclear deal.

“I do not trust these three countries,” he said, apparently referring to France, Germany and Britain. “If you succeed in getting guarantees (from them), then, no problem, go ahead. If you cannot, then it is not possible to continue in this way.”

Many Iranians are worried about what Trump’s decision could mean for their country.

The Iranian rial is already trading on the black market at 66,000 to the dollar, despite a government-set rate of 42,000 rials. Many say they have not seen any benefits from the nuclear deal.

Iran’s poor economy and unemployment sparked nationwide protests in December and January that saw at least 25 people killed and, reportedly, nearly 5,000 arrested.

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Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

SOURCE AP

Netanyahu sets off to Moscow as tensions skyrocket over Iran, Syria

PM to meet Putin hours after alleged Israeli strike on Iranian base south of Damascus, and as Russia warns of consequences of nuke deal pullout

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left Israel for Moscow Wednesday morning, saying that his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be focused on “ensuring ongoing military cooperation in Syria.”

His lightning trip to Russia was likely to be overshadowed by growing fears of an Israeli-Iranian confrontation over Syria, hours after Israel reportedly bombed a military site linked to Iranian fighters south of Damascus, and as Israeli authorities ordered bomb shelters opened on the Golan Heights amid fears of an Iranian reprisal.

The two countries are also at odds over the US pulling out of the nuclear deal, with a Russian diplomat warning Tuesday night the move could heighten tensions in the Middle East.

“I’m leaving first thing this morning to an important meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Netanyahu said in a brief statement before boarding his plane.

“Our meetings are always important, and this one is especially so. Given what is happening now in Syria, it is important to ensure the continued security coordination between the Russian army and the Israel Defense Forces,” he said.

The trip comes after Syrian media reported on Tuesday night that Israel bombed a site south of Damascus, reportedly killing nine pro-Iranian fighters in an area previously identified as the site of a suspected Iranian military base.

The alleged strike came hours after the Israeli military said it had identified “abnormal movements of Iranian forces in Syria” and called for local governments on the Golan Heights to open their bomb shelters.

A number of reservists were also called up, the army said. An IDF spokesperson would not elaborate on which units they came from, but media reports indicated they served in air defense, intelligence and Home Front Command units.

The Israel Defense Forces said it deployed missile defense batteries in northern Israel and “there is high preparedness of IDF troops for an attack.”

Earlier on Tuesday night, US President Donald Trump announced that the United States was pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal and imposing new sanctions on the Islamic Republic, in part due to Iran’s destabilizing activities in Syria.

Netanyahu praised the US president’s decision as “a historic move.”

President Donald Trump announcing his decision to leave the Iran nuclear deal in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House, May 8, 2018. 

Netanyahu has long been an opponent of an agreement that he said would never remove the danger of Tehran developing nuclear weapons. Trump cited Israel’s recent revelations about intelligence showing that Iran has lied about its program as one reason to pull out of the deal, which includes Russia as a signatory.

In New York, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, said “we are disappointed” at the US announcement.

Asked whether the move might heighten tensions in the Middle East, he responded with one word to reporters at UN headquarters: “sure.”

Russia, Syrian President Bashar Assad’s main backer, has chided Israel in the past over alleged strikes against Iranian and Syrian government forces in Syria. Israel has vowed to keep Iran from gaining a foothold in Syria to launch attacks against Israel, lobbying Russia to lean on its allies in the Syrian civil war and reportedly carrying out airstrikes against pro-regime forces linked to Iran and Lebanese proxy Hezbollah.

Following Trump’s announcement, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman met with the heads of Israel’s armed services in the military’s Tel Aviv headquarters to discuss the security situation, his office said.

On Sunday night, Israeli defense officials warned that Iran was planning to retaliate for recent deadly airstrikes in Syria, which have been attributed to the Jewish state, by having its proxies fire missiles at military targets in northern Israel sometime in the near future.

Security forces were also preparing for the possibility of attempted infiltrations of military bases and communities in the north, Hadashot TV news reported on Monday.

Tehran vowed revenge after the T-4 army base in Syria was struck in an air raid on April 9, killing at least seven members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The strike was widely attributed to Israel, though Jerusalem refused to comment on it. (T-4 was the base from which Israel said Iran launched an attack drone into Israel in February.) Late last month, a second strike allegedly conducted by Israel against an Iranian-controlled base in northern Syria was said to have killed more than two dozen Iranian soldiers.

On Monday, Iran’s army chief of staff warned that the regime would respond to any Israeli aggression “at an appropriate time,” as the countries continued to trade threats amid spiraling tensions.

Judah Ari Gross and agencies contributed to this report.

SOURCE The Times of Israel

Defying world, Trump says US withdrawing from Iran nuclear deal

Citing Israeli intelligence, president slams ‘defective’ pact, promises ‘highest level of economic sanction’ on Tehran

WASHINGTON — President Trump announced the US was withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal on Tuesday, following through on a campaign promise and defying European allies who implored him to maintain an agreement that international agencies have said Tehran is honoring.

In a highly anticipated address from the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room, Trump cast the landmark agreement forged under predecessor Barack Obama as “defective” and unable to rein in Iranian behavior or halt the Islamic Republic’s quest to develop nuclear weapons.

“I’m announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal,” he said, adding that his administration “will be instituting the highest level of economic sanction.”

Trump said the 2015 agreement, which included Germany, France, Russia, China and Britain, was a “horrible one-sided deal that should never ever have been made.”

His remarks came ahead of his self-imposed May 12 deadline to walk away from the deal; that date is when the president would be required to renew waivers on sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program as required under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the deal is formally called.

Trump emphasized that sanctions would also apply to other nations that did business with Iran, meaning that the United States could very well apply sanctions on its closest European allies. “America will not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail,” Trump said.

However, officials said European companies would have several months to pull out of the Iranian market.

Trump said that his explosive move would signal “the United States no longer makes empty threats” on the world stage. “When I make promises, I keep them,” he said.

Responding to the move, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has lobbied against the deal, said he offered his full support for Trump’s “bold move.”

In Iran, President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran would remain in the deal, but his country could resume nuclear activity if need be.

European signatories vowed to stick by the agreement.

In January, Trump waived sanctions for the third time in his presidency, but said he wouldn’t take that action again unless Congress and European allies amended the pact.

US President Donald Trump signs a document reinstating sanctions against Iran after announcing the US withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear deal, in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on May 8, 2018. (AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB)

Since then, international negotiators have unsuccessfully sought to make changes to the deal — and Tehran has refused to accept any alterations to its terms.

One official briefed on the decision said Trump would move to reimpose all sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the 2015 deal, not just the ones facing an immediate deadline.

As administration officials briefed congressional leaders about Trump’s plans Tuesday, they emphasized that just as with a major Asia trade deal and the Paris climate pact that Trump has abandoned, he remains open to renegotiating a better deal, one person briefed on the talks said.

The Iran agreement, struck in 2015 by the United States, other world powers, and Iran, lifted most US and international sanctions against the country. In return, Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear program making it impossible to produce a bomb, along with rigorous inspections.

Over the last several weeks, leaders from France, Britain, and Germany have all lobbied the president not to abscond from the accord, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu campaigned assiduously to discredit the deal.

Last week, he gave a PowerPoint presentation detailing a trove of documents the Mossad scooped that outline Iran’s covert attempts at developing a nuclear arsenal. Trump cited the trove and said the documents proved he was “100 percent right” in his skepticism and antipathy to the deal.

Trump has long cast the JCPOA as “worst deal ever negotiated” and a symbol of American weakness.

Trump signaled hours before his announcement an intention to undo the Obama administration’s signature foreign policy achievement.

Responding to recent reports that former secretary of state John Kerry recently met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to try and salvage the deal, Trump tweeted: “John Kerry can’t get over the fact that he had his chance and blew it! Stay away from negotiations John, you are hurting your country!”

Hours before the announcement, European countries met to underline their support for the agreement. Senior officials from Britain, France, and Germany met in Brussels with Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Abbas Araghchi.

If the deal collapses, Iran would be free to resume prohibited enrichment activities, while businesses and banks doing business with Iran would have to scramble to extricate themselves or run afoul of the US American officials, who were dusting off plans for how to sell a pullout to the public and explain its complex financial ramifications.

In Iran, many were deeply concerned about how Trump’s decision could affect the already struggling economy.

In Tehran earlier Tuesday, President Hassan Rouhani sought to calm nerves, smiling as he appeared at a petroleum expo. He didn’t name Trump directly, but emphasized that Iran continued to seek “engagement with the world.”

“It is possible that we will face some problems for two or three months, but we will pass through this,” Rouhani said.

Members of the Obama administration who helped solidify the international agreement told reporters before Trump’s announcement that the consequences of blowing up the deal could be cataclysmic.

“Iran could start on its way back to getting a nuclear weapon,” said Wendy Sherman, a former State Department official in the Obama administration who was the chief US negotiator of the agreement. “It raises risk of conflict in the Middle East. It could potentially put our forces at risk everywhere. It also puts Americans being held in Iran more at risk. It will weaken our alliances with Europe, and for that matter Russia and China, who are important to the North Korea negotiation. This is a crisis that Trump is precipitating himself.”

In his speech, Trump said “a constructive deal could easily been struck at the time, but it wasn’t.” The ensuing deal was “a great embarrassment to me as a citizen and all citizens of the United States.”

As he has in the past, he cast the deal’s sunset provisions, which allow certain restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear program to expire over time, as unacceptable. He said Tuesday, however, that they led Iran to “the nuclear brink” and that, “If I allowed this deal to stand, there would soon be a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.”

He further portrayed the accord as one that would lead to Iran crossing the nuclear threshold, not one that would prevent that.

“It is clear to me that we cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of the current agreement,” he said. “The Iran deal is defective at its core. If we do nothing, we know exactly what will happen.”

He also said that Iran would ultimately want to re-negotate another deal that fully meets Trump’s demands — something Iran itself has said it would not do. “The fact is they are going to want to make a new and lasting deal,” Trump said.

Anthony Blinken, a former deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration, warned this move will give hardliners in Iran an excuse to restart their pursuit of nuclear weapons, but without a united international coalition to oppose them, or inspectors on the ground to expose them.” He said that meant, “we would get to the point where we would have to live with an Iranian nuclear weapon or get into a conflict.”

He also surmised that if Iran and Europe decide to stick with the deal, despite Trump’s refusal to renew the sanction waivers, that will “at some point force the administration to sanction our closest allies to stop them from doing business with Iran.”

“So we’re on a collision course in two directions,” he added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

SOURCE The Times of Israel

#geopolitical #prophecy #iran #syria #israel #russia #middleEast #war #nuclear

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