Thursday , 28 March 2024

John Kerry, security experts team up to defend Iran deal from Trump

PayvandNews – Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry along with other top security experts have come to defend the Iran nuclear deal, also known as the JCPOA, from the country’s hardline President Donald Trump.  Through a newly formed organization called Diplomacy Works, Kerry and several national security experts who served under former U.S. President Barack Obama are fighting to protect the nuclear agreement, The Independent reported.



www.diplomacyworks.org

“There are few better examples of the value of diplomacy than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)…,” the group said.

It came days before Trump’s deadline to make a decision on whether to issue waivers temporarily suspending some anti-Iran sanctions.

Reached between Iran and six world powers on 14 July 2015, the nuclear deal aimed at limiting some aspect of Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

Though since Trump became president, fears have been raised over the future of the JCPOA, as he had called the accord “the worst deal ever” and promised to rip it up once in office.

Despite the rise of warmongers to power, Washington could not deny the fact that Tehran has been fully committed to the JCPOA.

In a letter to U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan last month, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Iran had complied with its commitments. However Tillerson said the White House will “evaluate whether suspension of sanctions related to Iran pursuant to the [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] is vital to the national security interests of the United States.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency has also, on numerous occasions, verified Tehran’s adherence to its commitments under the accord.

Yet the Trump administration has not fallen short of coming up with new threats and accusations against the Islamic Republic, with Tillerson claiming Iran’s nuclear program poses “a grave risk to international peace and security”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif hit back at Tillerson, saying “worn-out U.S. accusations” could not “mask its admission of Iran’s compliance” with the agreement.


Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif
(cartoon by Keyvan Varessi, published in January 2016 by Iranian daily Ghanoon)

Iran has also warned that it would restore its nuclear activities to the pre-JCPOA level, if the other side – especially the U.S. – fails to keep its end of the bargain.

Amid growing tension between the two countries, Diplomacy Works has gathered top experts, most of whom part of the Obama administration, to reinforce the deal.

One of its goals, as former Chief of Staff and Director of Policy Planning at the State Department Jon Finer told the Independent, is to “bring accurate, nonpartisan information about the deal at a time when the focus on Iran policy is increasing and there is widespread disinformation about what is in it and how it is working.”

The group has increased its activities ahead of Trump’s first foreign tour, beginning with a trip to Riyadh and Tel Aviv later this month.

Trump’s upcoming Middle East tour is aimed at getting Saudi Arabia and other Arab states in the region to stand in unity with Israel against Iran, according to Tillerson.

… Payvand News – 05/18/17 … —

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