“The message to Trump/Pompeo/Bolton is clear: You do this and you’re on your own.”
By Jake Johnson, staff writer for CommonDreams. Published 4-19-2018
An Iranian man reads a copy of Iranian daily newspaper Arman with a picture of US President Donald Trump on its front page with the title in Persian that reads ‘Crazy Trump and logical JCPOA’ on display in Tehran, Iran. (Photo: EPA)
As analysts warn that U.S. President Donald Trump could be planning to abandon the Iran nuclear accord as early as next month—particularly with national security adviser and war “fanatic” John Bolton whispering in his ear—more than 500 parliamentarians from the U.K., France, and Germany published an open letter on Thursday calling on Congress do all it can to keep the agreement alive and “protect the fruits of successful diplomacy.”
“Together, Europeans and Americans have proved that a strong and united transatlantic partnership can bring about a coalition extending to Russia and China, endorsed by the international community,” the lawmakers write. “But this coalition is now at risk, as the U.S. government moves towards abandoning the [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] without any evidence of Iran not fulfilling its obligations.”
Penned just weeks before the May 12 deadline for Trump to recertify the nuclear accord, the open letter also warns that U.S. withdrawal from the deal would do “lasting damage” to “diplomacy as a tool to achieve peace and ensure security.”
“We must preserve what took us a decade to achieve and has proved to be effective,” the letter concludes.
Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), argued in a tweet on Thursday that the sheer number of officials from America’s major European allies speaking out in support of the deal is a testament to its global significance.
“The message to Trump/Pompeo/Bolton is clear: You do this and you’re on your own,” Parsi wrote.
How important is it to keep the #IranDeal?
Important enough for 500 (!!) members of the German, French & UK Parliament to plead with US not to kill it and start a war.
The message to Trump/Pompeo/Bolton is clear: You do this and you’re on your own…https://t.co/hE9guuiuB3
— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) April 19, 2018
The parliamentarians’ urgent plea for Congress to prevent Trump from ripping up the landmark nuclear accord comes just over a week after Bolton officially began his job as the president’s chief national security adviser.
During numerous appearances over the past several years on Fox News and in the pages of some of America’s most influential newspapers, Bolton has repeatedly called on the U.S. to launch a military attack on Iran.
In a statement responding to Trump’s decision last month to select Bolton as his top foreign policy adviser, Parsi warned that “as the world awaits Trump’s May 12 decision as to whether he will abandon the Iran nuclear deal, all of the signs now point to a decision to move to war footing.”
“Donald Trump may have just effectively declared war on Iran,” Parsi added. “With the appointment of John Bolton, and nomination of Mike Pompeo at State, Trump is clearly putting together a war cabinet.”
