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TOP STORIES
In explaining his decision to fire Tillerson, Trump said
they had disagreed on many topics, but he specifically singled out
one dispute: Whether or not to stay in the Iran pact. "When you
look at the Iran deal. I thought it was terrible. He thought it was OK,"
Trump said. "I wanted to either break it or do something, he
felt a little differently. So we were not really thinking the
same." On May 12, in exactly two months, the US leader is to
pronounce on the fate of the Iran deal. If sacking Tillerson is any
indicator of Trump's decision on the issue, it suggests the accord is
in trouble.
"America's top military commander in the Middle
East told Congress today that President Bashar al-Assad's recent
gains in the Syrian civil war will enhance Iran's ability to support
proxy groups in the region. Chief of US Central Command Joseph Votel
told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the intervention by
Iran and Russia has proven decisive in bolstering the embattled
Syrian leader.
In his year leading the agency, Pompeo approved new
authorities to target through intelligence operations leaders of
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. Inside the cabinet, Pompeo argued
against certifying Iranian compliance with the nuclear deal while
Tillerson made the case for not rocking the boat. To get a flavor of
how Pompeo approaches the nuclear pact, look no further than his work
as a member of Congress... After the agreement was completed in 2015,
Pompeo worked tirelessly as a member of Congress to meet with
European bankers, diplomats and CEOs to make the case that investing
in Iran was not as safe as they were hearing from John Kerry, who was
secretary of state at the time.
NUCLEAR DEAL
It is unclear how Mike Pompeo becoming U.S. secretary of
state may affect the Iran nuclear deal given that there is only one
voice that counts in President Donald Trump's administration: his
own.
Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo's strong
connection with President Donald Trump means he would be able to
speak to foreign governments with more authority on thorny global
issues. But the addition of a like-minded secretary of state, coming
as the U.S. is approaching a critical juncture for two pressing
nuclear dilemmas, could also present risks.
Reactions in the Middle East on Wednesday to the firing
of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reflect the volatile divide
between Iran, where many fear his departure heralds the demise of the
2015 nuclear deal, and Gulf Arab nations hoping for a more hawkish
U.S. stance toward Tehran and Qatar.
A top U.S. general on Tuesday signaled support for the
Iran nuclear deal, saying the agreement, which President Donald Trump
has threatened to withdraw from, has played an important role in
addressing Iran's nuclear program.
Mike Pompeo, a foreign policy hawk tapped by President
Donald Trump to be the next Secretary of State, may push U.S.
diplomacy sharply to the right. Here is what the CIA director and
former Kansas congressman has said about global hot spots from Iran
to North Korea. "My critique of the Obama administration's JCPOA
commitment was that they left the Iranians with a breakout capacity.
They had a short time frame that these would -- these restrictions
would remain in place." --March 11 on CBS's "Face the
Nation" "I look forward to rolling back this disastrous
deal with the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism."
--Nov. 17, 2016, on his personal Twitter account, which was
de-activated once he became head of the CIA.
CONGRESS & IRAN
I recently returned from the Middle East, where I
visited Jordan and Israel. I have been to the region many times, and
this was the most unnerving visit I've taken in a long time. With the
help of Vladimir Putin and Bashar Assad, Iran is winning. Sunni
Arabs, Israel and the U.S. are on their heels.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNAL DISCONTENT
A prominent Iranian academic was given an 18-month jail
sentence on Tuesday after giving an interview to German news
organization Deutsche Welle, according to a press release from DW.
Sadegh Zibakalam, a political science professor at Tehran University,
was charged with giving an interview to a foreign news organization
in the Persian language and "propaganda against the order of the
Islamic Republic and spreading false information," the release
said.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Iran's foreign minister has wrapped up a trip to
Pakistan in which he made a surprise offer to let Islamabad take part
in a major port project partly funded by Pakistan's archrival
India.
IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS
Iran Tuesday jailed Hamid Baghai, a vice president under
former hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, following his conviction for
corruption, media reports said.
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