As Washington’s war hawks move us ever closer to WWIII, the moment may have arrived where this U.S. President must now decide whether it’s ‘America First’ or Israel First, because it can’t be both.
After one year of aggressive economic warfare by the Trump Administration, followed by unprovoked U.S. military threats against Tehran this week, the Iranian leadership have announced they are giving Washington 60 days to return to the JCPOA negotiation table which the U.S. left one year ago under the direction of Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
President Hasan Rouhani took to national TV and cited the reasons for Tehran’s reversal, namely US violations to the JCPOA deal and a failure by its European signatories to compensate Iran for the damage done by Washington DC.
By taking this tact, Iran hopes to pressure Europe to bring the U.S. back to the negotiation table in the hopes of returning to a healthier negotiation situation than the current U.S. position which is to impose a full economic embargo on Iran until Washington achieves a regime change.
Expect tensions to increase following this announcement. Only yesterday, the Pentagon deployed the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the Middle East in response to alleged “number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings” from Iran – a dubious intelligence claim made by war hawk John Bolton.
As it turned out, the so-called “intelligence” was wildly over-exaggerated, as there was never any evidence that Iran was planning to attack U.S. forces in the region. Yet, another potentially catastrophic blunder.
To makes matters even worse, it appears more likely still that the source of the said “intelligence” is most likely from Israel:
“It is still unclear to us what the Iranians are trying to do and how they are planning to do it, but it is clear to us that the Iranian temperature is on the rise as a result of the growing US pressure campaign against them, and they are considering retaliating against US interests in the Gulf,” an official was quoted as saying. (Source: Times of Israel)
It goes without saying that the potential for Israel manipulating this White House is as great as any other administration in U.S. history.
Washington Post Baghdad bureau chief Tamer El-Ghobashy reports on Iran’s nuclear announcement…
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday announced that his country was taking steps to halt its compliance with elements of a landmark nuclear accord, in a move that appeared certain to aggravate tensions with the United States.
President Hassan Rouhani
In a televised speech, Rouhani said that Iran would keep stockpiles of excess uranium and heavy water that is used in nuclear reactors. He gave a 60-day deadline for new terms to the nuclear accord, after which Tehran would resume higher uranium enrichment.
“We are ready to negotiate, within the boundaries of JCPOA,” he said referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal. “It is not us who has left the negotiation table.”
The speech coincided with the anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal last year, and came amid heightened American economic and military pressure on Iran, including the deployment of an aircraft carrier to the Middle East that U.S. officials say was in response to credible indications Tehran planned to attack U.S. interests in the region.
Tehran’s intention to not fully abide by the terms of the JCPOA, represented the strongest steps taken by Iran to respond to comprehensive economic sanctions imposed by Washington last year.
Continue this report here
READ MORE IRAN NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Iran Files
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