Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently announced that he had created an Iran Action Group to coordinate and implement policy toward Tehran, saying Iran had unleashed “a torrent of violence and destabilizing behavior against the United States, our allies, our partners and, indeed, the Iranian people themselves.” Coming after the administration’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions, this announcement signaled again that the Trump administration intends to act more aggressively against Iran. So how likely is it that this pressure campaign will change Iranian behavior? Research about international coercion conducted by social scientists suggests that success is more likely if the U.S. makes its demands clear, imposes costs on Iran that outweigh the benefits of standing firm and clearly and credibly offers a diplomatic off-ramp to end the pressure. The Trump policy fails each of these tests. It appears to be designed to push for regime change, despite Trump administration officials’ repeated pronouncements that this is not their aim. 1. The Trump administration’s demands are not clear In a speech in May, Pompeo laid out the United States’ core demands of Iran. Pompeo identified 12 areas in which Iran is expected to change its behavior. Four of these relate to the administration’s desire for a stronger nuclear deal: provide more information on past nuclear weapons work; end all uranium enrichment and reprocessing; stop developing and exporting ballistic missiles; and allow inspectors unlimited access to any sites potentially related to nuclear weapons work. The additional eight demands are about other aspects of Iran’s behavior. For example, Pompeo demanded that Iran release all American citizens held as prisoners; end support for militant and terrorist groups — particularly in Yemen, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Afghanistan and Iraq; withdraw its troops from Syria; and “en
Click Read More to go to where the original article came from which helped to generate this article preview for commentary unto which we give FULL credit to the original author. See disclaimer:
We post the latest and greatest in liberty-themed news, debate, and commentary! Our goal is to have an open discussion regarding current events going on in the world. FAIR USE NOTICE: The use of media materials featured on this channel is protected by the Fair Use Clause of the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, which allows for the rebroadcast of copyrighted materials for the purposes of commentary, criticism, or education. If any copyright owner has an issue or concern with a specific article or the statutory 25%-of-article rule, please send us an e-mail to request prompt removal or other arrangements.
Click here to go to TrumpShop.net and get the latest political clothing, accessories, and more!
Click here to go to Seek Liberty Youtube Channel and watch the latest liberty loving videos out there!