{"id":219257,"date":"2019-06-18T02:06:40","date_gmt":"2019-06-18T06:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=219257"},"modified":"2019-06-18T02:06:40","modified_gmt":"2019-06-18T06:06:40","slug":"nuclear-changes-more-troops-heighten-us-iran-tensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/06\/18\/nuclear-changes-more-troops-heighten-us-iran-tensions\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuclear changes, more troops heighten US Iran tensions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cWe continue to call on the Iranian regime not to obtain a nuclear weapon, to abide by their commitments to the international community,\u201d State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus told reporters. (File Photo<\/a>: morgan_ortagus\/Instagram<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The\u00a0U.S.\u00a0and\u00a0Iran\u00a0edged toward a flashpoint Monday as Tehran announced it was breaking compliance with the accord that keeps it from making nuclear weapons and the Trump administration followed by ordering 1,000 more troops to the Middle East.<\/p>\n

The Pentagon said the deployment includes security forces and troops for additional surveillance and intelligence gathering in the region. While the number is small, it represents an escalation of\u00a0U.S.\u00a0military might aimed at deterring\u00a0Iran\u00a0and calming allies worried that transit through key shipping lanes could be in jeopardy.<\/p>\n

Tehran’s announcement earlier Monday means it could soon start to enrich uranium to just a step away from weapons-grade levels, challenging President Donald Trump’s assurances to allies that the\u00a0U.S.withdrawal from the deal last year made the world a safer place.<\/p>\n

The developments are bound to inflame tensions in the Middle East and pose a test of resolve and credibility for both adversaries.<\/p>\n

Iran\u00a0said it would break a limit on uranium stockpiles established by the 2015 agreement with world powers that was intended to restrict the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program in exchange for an easing of international sanctions.<\/p>\n

After Trump withdrew from the agreement, signed by his predecessor, he reinstated punishing economic sanctions, leaving the European and other partners in the accord struggling to keep\u00a0Iran\u00a0on board.<\/p>\n

On Monday, the\u00a0U.S.\u00a0administration found itself in the awkward position of demanding that\u00a0Iran\u00a0comply with a nuclear accord that the president derided as the worst deal in history.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to call on the Iranian regime not to obtain a nuclear weapon, to abide by their commitments to the international community,\u201d State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus told reporters.<\/p>\n

The move comes as Washington accuses\u00a0Iran\u00a0of attacking two tankers near the Persian Gulf and the Iranians deny responsibility. With details murky and no one owning up to the attacks, the Pentagon released new photos intended to bolster its case that\u00a0Iran\u00a0carried out the attacks.<\/p>\n

The State Department spokeswoman said\u00a0Iran’s uranium announcement amounted to \u201cextortion\u201d and a \u201cchallenge to international norms,\u201d as well as to the 2015 agreement known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s unfortunate that they have made this announcement today,\u201d Ortagus said. \u201cIt doesn’t surprise anybody and this is why the president has often said that the JCPOA needs to be replaced with a better deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump appeared to say the deal should not be violated in a tweet: \u201cIran\u00a0to defy Uranium Stockpile Limits.\u201d<\/p>\n

In announcing the new deployment, Acting Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan said the forces are \u201cfor defensive purposes to address air, naval, and ground-based threats in the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United States does not seek conflict with\u00a0Iran,\u201d Shanahan said. \u201cThe action today is being taken to ensure the safety and welfare of our military personnel working throughout the region and to protect our national interests.\u201d He added that the\u00a0U.S.\u00a0will continue to adjust troop levels as needed.<\/p>\n

On the unravelling of the multinational nuclear deal, some of its supporters blamed the Trump administration for\u00a0Iran’s provocative announcements, saying they were predictable given the renewed\u00a0U.S.pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile\u00a0Iran’s frustration with Trump’s reckless and irresponsible pressure campaign is understandable, we strongly urge\u00a0Iran\u00a0to remain in compliance with the nuclear deal,\u201d the Arms Control Association said in a statement. \u201cIt remains in\u00a0Iran’s interests to abide by the limits of the agreement and to fully co-operate with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s more intrusive monitoring and verification.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran\u00a0has shown no willingness to negotiate another deal and vowed not enter into talks with the United States while the administration maintains its \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d campaign of sanctions.<\/p>\n

Administration officials found themselves Monday grappling with whether to press the remaining parties to the deal, including Britain, France and Germany, to demand that\u00a0Iran\u00a0stay in compliance. They must also consider if such a stance would essentially concede that the restrictions imposed during the Obama administration, while short of ideal, are better than none.<\/p>\n

Under the deal,\u00a0Iran\u00a0can keep a stockpile of no more than 660 pounds (300 kilograms) of low-enriched uranium. Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for\u00a0Iran’s atomic agency, said it would pass that limit June 27.<\/p>\n

A senior\u00a0U.S.\u00a0official said the administration is most concerned about any violation of the deal that would reduce the breakout time that\u00a0Iran\u00a0would need to produce a nuclear weapon. The deal aimed to keep the breakout time at one year.<\/p>\n

The official said certain violations, while they should be not accepted, would not necessarily reduce that time. But other violations, such as enriching uranium to 20%, should be addressed immediately if they occur, the official said. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n

The official said it would be up to the Europeans to decide if\u00a0Iran\u00a0was in violation of the deal and whether to initiate a dispute resolution mechanism that could bring the Iranians back into compliance. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to meet this week with E.U. foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, a leading deal proponent, at which this issue is likely to be raised.<\/p>\n

Pompeo, who was a leading critic of the deal while he was in Congress, has said in the past that Iranian compliance is not really an issue as the administration sees the agreement as fundamentally flawed because over time it eases many limits on\u00a0Iran’s nuclear activities.<\/p>\n

Yet, just last week, the\u00a0U.S.\u00a0ambassador to the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog accused\u00a0Iran\u00a0of violating a provision of the deal that relates to advanced centrifuges and called on the Europeans to ensure that\u00a0Iranremains in compliance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON \u2014 The\u00a0U.S.\u00a0and\u00a0Iran\u00a0edged toward a flashpoint Monday as Tehran announced it was breaking compliance with the accord that keeps it …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":219260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-219257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-w","mauthors-matthew-lee","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219257"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":219261,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219257\/revisions\/219261"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}