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July 27, 2017

Trump Seeks to Abuse Inspections in the Iran Deal to Fabricate Crisis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Trita Parsi
Phone: 202-386-6325
Email: [email protected]

Trita Parsi, President of the National Iranian American Council and author of Losing an Enemy – Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy, issued the following statement in response to reports that the Trump administration is planning to abuse the inspections mechanism of the Iran nuclear deal in order to fabricate a crisis that could lead to war:

“Reports that Trump is pushing for IAEA access to Iranian military sites without a compelling intelligence justification should be deeply concerning. Already, Trump has not only signaled his intent to withdraw from the nuclear accord, he’s made clear that he wants to find Iran out of compliance even when the IAEA and U.S. intelligence services have confirmed that Iran is living up to the deal. Clearly, facts don’t matter to the Trump administration – their desire to start a war trumps everything. Now, his team appears to be putting his desires into action.

“In negotiating the accord, some negotiators feared that a future hostile U.S. administration would exploit inspection mechanisms to seek access to sensitive military sites without a valid justification, prompting a standoff that could kill the accord. Neocons eager to dismantle the deal, including those advising the administration, have been pushing this course of action. If Iran refuses the fraudulent inspections requests, Trump’s team could seek to spin it into a plausible justification to pin the blame on Iran while either withdrawing from the accord or compelling Iran to do so.

“Trump is jeopardizing America’s security. Not only would a collapse of the nuclear deal and a potential war sabotage U.S. national security, Trump’s desire to abuse the inspection mechanisms compromises one of the most critical elements of the nuclear deal. The ability for hardliners in Iran to cheat on the agreement and engage in illicit activities significantly increases if the credibility of the inspections mechanisms are abused and undermined.

“Rarely has a sinister plan to destroy an arms control agreement and pave the way for war been so openly telegraphed.”

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