Trump Declines to Certify That Iran is in Compliance With Deal; Brads Iranian Republican Guards a Terrorist Group

This isn't a withdrawal yet, but he refused to certify that Iran is in compliance with its end of the deal. This will be seen as a prelude to withdrawing fully from the deal, unless Iran begins complying.

Which it won't. It's Iran.

President Trump announced Friday he will decertify the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying he believes the "radical regime" has committed multiple violations of the agreement as he kicked a decision over whether to restore sanctions back to Congress.

"I am announcing today that we cannot and will not make this certification," Trump said during a speech at the White House. "We will not continue down a path whose predictable conclusion is more violence, more terror, and the very real threat of Iran's nuclear breakthrough."

Friday's announcement does not withdraw the United States from the Iran deal, which the president called "one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into."

But the president threatened that he could still ultimately pull out of the deal.

"In the event we are not able to reach a solution working with Congress and our allies, the agreement will be terminated," he said. "It is under continuous review and our participation can be canceled by me as president at any time."

The three European countries making the most money from dealing with Iran -- Germany, France, and the UK, in that order -- squealed like stuck pigs.

Trump also ordered the Treasury Department to hit the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with financial sanctions.

The Treasury Department on Friday slapped sanctions on an elite Iranian military organization, part of its broader strategy to ramp up pressure on Tehran....

The Treasury is targeting Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, a military unit loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin contended the group has "played a central role to Iran becoming the world's foremost state sponsor of terror."

The Treasury also sanctioned four entities -- three based in Iran and one based in China -- that it says provides "support to the IRGC or Iran's military."

Update: I am confused over whether the IRGC is being formally designated a terrorist group under US law or if Trump just called them that (which would be rhetorical, without force of law). Different media idiots are saying different things.

Update: It appears that the IRGC has in fact been formally, legally designated a terrorist group:

posted by Ace at 02:29 PM

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