Pulling Out of Iran Deal Escalates Nuclear Threat, CAP’s Kelly Magsamen Says
Washington, D.C. – After President Donald Trump took steps to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, Kelly Magsamen, vice president for National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal is dangerous and could not come at a worse time. At the same time his administration attempts to resolve one nuclear crisis in East Asia, President Trump has set into motion a second nuclear crisis in the Middle East by putting Iran back on the path to a nuclear weapon. Trump is also isolating the United States from its allies and making clear that the U.S. does not live up to its own agreements.
It is important to remember the Iran nuclear deal is working and remains in the U.S. national security interest. The deal has verifiably prevented Iran from building a bomb and placed severe restrictions on Iranian nuclear activities in perpetuity. This agreement does not require the United States to trust the Iranian government. On the contrary, as Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis recently noted, the agreement “is written almost with an assumption that Iran would try to cheat.”
It is true the nuclear deal doesn’t address every outstanding issue between the United States and Iran. But tearing up the deal does not address these issues either. Instead, it puts the United States and its allies in a position where they must now manage both a nuclear threat and a regional threat simultaneously. It also increases the risk of conflict at a time when there are already a number of potential flashpoints across the Middle East, putting our troops and our regional allies at further risk. It is increasingly clear that the Trump administration has no coherent Plan B to deal with these dangerous contingencies or to actually prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Instead, the United States should be working together with our allies to constrain Iran while trying to resolve the regional civil wars that allow Tehran to expand its influence across the Middle East. But President Trump seems less interested in protecting America’s national security interests than in pursuing his obsession with undoing the achievements of his predecessor.
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Condemns President Trump’s Withdrawal from Iran Nuclear Deal
Washington, DC—Following President Trump’s announcement to withdraw from the Iran Nuclear Deal, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) said:
“President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran Nuclear Deal dangerously increases the likelihood of war and undermines approaching talks with Kim Jong-un to denuclearize North Korea. While the Iran deal is far from perfect, Iran is in compliance and the deal is working by preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and preventing an all-out war. The concerns regarding other issues like Iran’s missile program should be addressed outside of the existing nuclear deal.
“Breaking this commitment that the U.S. made to Iran and our allies will likely push Iran to restart its nuclear weapons program, increase the potential of war, and undermine critical negotiations to denuclearize North Korea – a country that already has nuclear weapons that threaten Hawai‘i and the United States. Due to President Trump’s actions today, there is no reason for North Korea’s Kim Jong-un to believe that the United States will abide by any agreement made with them to denuclearize North Korea. This short-sighted decision ruins already damaged U.S. global credibility, proving that the U.S. cannot be trusted to keep its promises.”
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has consistently urged President Trump and Congress to uphold the nation’s commitment to the Iran Nuclear Deal(Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). The congresswoman spoke on the House floor and published an article in The Hill urging President Trump against decertifying Iran’s compliance with the Iran nuclear agreement. She has acknowledged that the Iran Nuclear Deal is imperfect; however, she emphasized that the agreement was better than the alternative.
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has continually advocated for the defense of Hawai‘i and our country from the threat of a nuclear attack from North Korea, and is a strong advocate for strengthening U.S. missile defense.
Global Conversations: Losing an Enemy – Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy, 6 p.m. (CST) June 27 at Hennepin County Library – Minneapolis Central, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55401+ Google Map. Free and open to the public.
The controversial 2015 Iran nuclear deal broke a persistent stalemate in negotiations, bringing the U.S. and Iran into agreement on a plan to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. What impact will President Tump’s recent decision to withdraw the U.S. from the agreement have?
Hear Trita Parsi, author and Middle East foreign policy expert, speak about the behind-the-scenes dealings that led to the historic nuclear deal with Iran and share his perspective on what the U.S. decisions means for future U.S.-Iran relations. Drawing from more than 75 in-depth interviews with key decision-makers, including Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Trita Parsi’s new book, Losing an Enemy – Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy, gives an authoritative account of President Obama’s signature foreign policy achievement.
Following the program, Parsi will sign copies of his book Losing an Enemy – Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy, which can be purchased through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound, and will be available for purchase at the event.
Trita Parsi is an award-winning author and the 2010 recipient of the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. He is the founder and president of the National Iranian American Council and an expert on U.S.-Iran relations, Iranian foreign politics, and the geopolitics of the Middle East. Parsi has followed Middle East politics through work in the field and extensive experience on Capitol Hill and at the United Nations. He is frequently consulted by Western and Asian governments on foreign policy matters and has worked for the Swedish Permanent Mission to the UN, where he served in the Security Council, handling the affairs of Afghanistan, Iraq, Tajikistan, and Western Sahara, and in the General Assembly’s Third Committee, addressing human rights in Iran, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Iraq. Parsi’s articles on Middle East affairs have been published in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and others. He is a frequent guest on CNN, PBS’s Newshour with Jim Lehrer, NPR, the BBC, and Al Jazeera.
Born in Iran, Parsi moved with his family at the age of four to Sweden in order to escape political repression. He moved to the U.S. as an adult and received a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins’ School for Advanced International Studies. He also received master’s degrees in international relations from Uppsala University and economics from the Stockholm School of Economics.
Global Conversations in Minneapolis is produced in partnership with the Hennepin County Library-Minneapolis Central.
