October 5, 2017

New Report: Trump Is Planning to Decertify Iran Deal

Xinhua via ZUMA

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I suppose this is no surprise, and yet it still is. The Washington Post reports:

President Trump plans to announce next week that he will “decertify” the international nuclear deal with Iran, saying it is not in the national interest of the United States and kicking the issue to a reluctant Congress, people briefed on an emerging White House strategy for Iran said Thursday.

….Trump’s senior national security advisers agreed within the past several weeks to recommend that Trump “decertify” the agreement at the Oct. 15 deadline….That would start a 60-day congressional review period to consider the next steps for the United States.

If Trump goes ahead with this, Congress has 60 days to reimpose sanctions on Iran. But no matter how much you dislike the Iran deal, it’s hard to see what the point of this would be. Iran already has the money we unfroze, and reimposing sanctions would do little good without cooperation from everyone else—which we won’t get. What’s more, it sends a signal to the world that agreements with America aren’t worth much.

Basically, it’s all bad for the United States and all good for Iran. Then again, it is an Obama deal we’re talking about, and Trump is hellbent on undoing every last thing Obama accomplished. Maybe that’s all that matters to him.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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