Page 6 - IRANRptOct19
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“These measures risk leading to a new period of tension and new escalation so we must take advantage of the political space that exists to move forward,” Le Drian said
Trump wants a tougher nuclear deal that would put up even higher barriers to the potential development of a nuclear weapon by Iran. He also wants the accord to curb the Iranian ballistic missile development programme and stop Iran from arming militias in the Middle East that variously pose a threat to Israel and Arab nations that are close allies of Washington.
2.2 Trump calls on nations to not “subsidise Iran’s bloodlust”
Donald Trump on September 24 used his speech before the UN General Assembly to call on nations to act against Tehran and not "subsidise Iran's bloodlust".
The US president has come under pressure to explain how his policy of unilaterally and abruptly withdrawing the US from the multilateral nuclear deal in May 2018—a move that uprooted conventions on international diplomacy given that his predecessor Barack Obama, the Iranians, the UK, Germany, France, Russia and China in November 2015 signed the accord professing good faith—and switching to a policy of hitting the Iranian economy with a backbreaking sanctions regime is supposed to have progressed peace and security in the Middle East. That’s particularly been the case since pre-dawn attacks on oil facilities on September 14 wiped out half of Saudi Arabia’s oil production capacity, with Riyadh and Washington immediately pointing the finger at Tehran for the drone and cruise missile strikes while the Iranians claimed they were the work of Houthis fighting Saudi-backed forces in Yemen’s civil war.
Trump, who in the eyes of some analysts has had his dangerous, unnecessary and foolhardy bluff called by Iran and now looks weak by failing to launch military retribution against the Iranians in response to the attacks on Saudi Arabia, essentially doubled down on his sanctions policy in his address at the UN headquarters in New York.
"One of the greatest security threats facing peace-loving nations today is the repressive regime in Iran," Trump told gathered world leaders.
Denouncing "four decades of failure" since the Islamic revolution in 1979, he called for Iran's leaders to "finally put the Iranian people first," and warned that US sanctions would not be eased unless Tehran changed its behaviour.
"All nations have a duty to act," Trump said. "No responsible government should subsidise Iran's bloodlust. As long as Iran's menacing behaviour continues, sanctions will not be lifted. They will be tightened."
The nuclear deal was drawn up to shield Iran from heavy sanctions in return for verified compliance with measures barring any path Tehran might take to building a nuclear weapon. When Trump yanked the US out of the deal, all the other signatories stayed in, pointing out that UN inspectors were confident in Iran’s compliance.
6 IRAN Country Report October 2019 www.intellinews.com
