Iran Focus
London, 25 May – While Donald Trump has been on his inaugural tour of the Middle East, he has been very clear on his attitudes towards the Iranian Regime; attitudes that have been applauded and welcomed by the heads of state that he has met there.
It’s no surprise that Trump was critical of the Iranian Regime at the Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia, to which Iran was not invited.
On the campaign trail, he was heavily critical of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers including the US but rather than scrapping the deal since taking office, a move which his advisors do not recommend, Trump has chosen to focus on Iran’s ballistic missile development and support for terrorism in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
When speaking in Jerusalem, during a joint conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said: “Iran should be very grateful to the United States. Iran negotiated a fantastic deal with the previous administration. No matter where we go we see the signs of Iran in the Middle East. … Yemen, Iraq, no matter where we are we see the signs, whether it’s soldiers, whether it’s money and guns. Instead of saying thank you to the United States, they now feel emboldened.”
There are three main reasons why those in the Middle East and their Western allies are concerned about Iran: support for terrorism, interference in the affairs of other nation states, and their nuclear and ballistic missiles programmes.
The Regime has implanted itself into the civil wars of many surrounding nations, including Syria and Yemen, making the situation worse for the civilians there, by prolonging the wars and supporting those who seek to abuse human rights.
They have publically tested their ballistic missiles on several occasions this year, which violates the spirit of the 2015 nuclear deal, and are secretly working on their nuclear weapons programme, which directly violates the deal.
In fact, this is part of the reason that most countries see the Iranian Regime as terrorists; they traffic arms, money, and troops to terrorist cells, are working on their own nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes, and they interference in the affairs of neighbouring countries.
Trump’s comments came after so-called moderate Hassan Rouhani was re-elected to the Iranian Presidency in last Friday’s ‘elections’. However, the voters that did choose to show up didn’t have a lot of choices, as all candidates are chosen by the Council of Guardians and not by the people; opposition candidates are not allowed to run.
For this reason, many Iranians heeded the call of the Iranian Resistance and stayed home in protest. Although the Regime claims 70% voter turnout, numerous video accounts show polling stations that are empty apart from staff for large periods on the day.
