NIAC Statement on Trump's Tweet Threat to "End" Iran

Today, President Trump threatened to "end" Iran in a tweet on the heels of reports that rockets landed near the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad.

In response, President of the National Iranian American Council, Jamal Abdi, issued the following statement:

"President Trump's saber-rattling about Iran has reached a dangerous new low with his threat to "end" Iran--a country of 83 million men, women, and children. Since the President reneged on the Iran nuclear deal last year, the administration's policies have been geared towards provoking Iran into retaliation to give cover for a perilous escalation favored by administration hawks. There is no doubt that National Security Advisor John Bolton will use the slightest Iranian action--even bereft of reliable intelligence--as a pretext to push for the war he's always wanted.

"Trump's belligerent threat to destroy Iran comes on the heels of reports that a "low-grade" rocket landed in an empty lot near the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad. Last September, a similar incident led to Bolton asking the Pentagon for options to militarily strike Iran. At the time, then-Secretary of Defense James Mattis shot down Bolton's plans. With Mattis gone today, Bolton is well positioned to push Trump and the U.S. into a conflict that would be catastrophic for U.S. interests and regional and global stability.

"The fact is that the United States and the world should not be in this position where a war with Iran is even a possibility. America's traditional allies in Europe, as well as the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence, have repeatedly warned that the administration's actions are leading to a dangerous tit-for-tat with Iran. Simply stated, the current state of heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran is exclusively due to the policies of the Trump administration, which abandoned a nonproliferation agreement that was working in favor of a so-called "maximum pressure campaign."

"President Trump has claimed that he doesn't want war, but his bombastic rhetoric is ensuring that he walks into one. Threats of destruction, a la "fire and fury," will not get him a deal with Iran, just as they haven't with North Korea. Instead, if Trump is sincere about wanting diplomatic compromise, he should cease his policy of economic warfare that is strangling the Iranian people and pursue a tone of mutual respect with Tehran. Foremost, this would require him to fire John Bolton, who has made clear he opposes U.S.-Iran diplomacy in principle."