Trump’s State Department spent over $1m in Iran to exploit unrest for ‘regime change’, documents reveal
At
the end of 2017, a dozen cities across Iran, including the capital
Tehran, were rocked by spontaneous protests which continued into the
New Year. What role did the United States play?
Part
3 - GCC rivalry and the nuclear deal, the Saudi regime on the lookout
The
government’s decision to “at least maintain, if not increase,
defense ties to the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] states” are
also “pivotal to US efforts to counter Iran”:
“The
Trump Administration… has returned to earlier characterizations of
Iran as an adversary whose malign activities and ballistic missile
tests must be met with US responses.”
The
document warns that escalating indirect US pressure on Iran could
lead to the pre-emptive collapse of the nuclear agreement known as
the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA): “… military
action to counter Iran’s support for the Houthis, or against
Iranian ships in the Gulf – could lead to a pattern of escalation
that causes a collapse of the JCPOA.”
The
document also highlights the potential for an escalation of military
activity to counter Iran led by the Gulf regimes: “Factors that
could force a shift in Iran’s foreign policy could include the
expansion or institutionalization of a Saudi-led coalition of Arab
Sunni states that might succeed in defeating movements and
governments backed by Iran.”
A
further Congressional document authored by Katzman titled ‘Iran:
Politics, Human Rights, and US Policy’, dated February 17, 2017,
provides further detail on the Trump administration’s attempts to
escalate pressure on Iran.
Under
the heading ‘military options’, the document notes that like
Obama, President Trump has kept “potential military action
against Iran” on the table, but has moved considerably closer
to this option: “The Trump Administration has not stated a
position on whether it would seek to change Iran’s regime, but its
characterization of Iran as a US adversary could suggest that the
Administration might support efforts to oust the Iranian regime
should opportunities to do so present themselves.”
Insight:
The Trump administration’s Iran policy shift reveals an increasing
willingness to support Iran regime change efforts, depending on
whether the geopolitical, economic and domestic opportunities to do
so materialize.
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