Tensions Rising With Iran

The United States on Sunday May 5, 2019 announced it would be “deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the U.S. Central Command region [in Iran] to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force” (1). This comes after the US picked up “new intelligence that Iran or its proxies were preparing to attack American troops in Iraq and Syria” (2). In addition to the deployment of its military forces, President Donald Trump on Wednesday May 8, 2019 announced the addition of “sanctions.. being imposed on Iran’s iron, steel, aluminum, and copper sectors” (3). This comes on the one year anniversary of the US exiting the Iran Deal (4), and on top of the existing sanctions against Iranian Oil due to the country’s “onward transfer [of oil] to terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hizballah” (5). The President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, responded to these actions with a televised statement on Wednesday, summarized by his tweet stating, “Iran [will no longer] keep its enriched uranium and produced heavy water limited… and [the EU] will face Iran’s further actions if they can not fulfill their obligations [in regards to the JCPoA, or Iran Deal] within the next 60 days and secure Iran’s interests” (6). The EU leaders released a joint statement response today, May 9, 2019, responding, “[they] remain fully committed to the preservation and full implementation of the JCPoA… and, strongly urge Iran continue to implement its commitments under the JCPoA in full” (7).

1. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-national-security-advisor-ambassador-john-bolton-2/
2. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/06/world/middleeast/us-iran-iraq-troops-.html
3. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-cutting-off-funds-iranian-regime-uses-support-destructive-activities-around-world/
4. https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2018/05/281938.htm
5. https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2018/11/287500.htm
6. https://twitter.com/HassanRouhani?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
7. https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/62093/joint-statement-high-representative-european-union-and-foreign-ministers-france-germany-and_en