TRUMP AND MULLAHS IN NUCLEAR SHOWDOWN

Time is running out for Iran to agree to a nuclear deal with the Trump administration. President Trump gave the theocratic regime a deadline of two months to strike a deal. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi told a meeting in Vienna at the end of May that Tehran has increased its stockpile of highly enriched, near weapons-grade uranium to over 900 lbs, an increase of 50 percent in the last three months. Grossi says the regime has enriched uranium to 60%, a hair’s-breadth away from the 90% required for building a nuclear bomb. Uranium required for civilian power production is only enriched to 4%. The IAEA chief warned that Iran will soon have sufficient weapons-grade uranium to make multiple nuclear bombs. The mullahs claim the accusation from the IAEA is “politically motivated and repeats baseless accusations”.

Arguing that they have a right to enrich uranium for “peaceful” energy purposes, the mullahs’ regime say that they will not be bullied into ceasing all nuclear enrichment. The mullahs are playing their usual game of using delaying tactics and obfuscation to keep negotiations with the Americans grinding on, while they race behind the scenes to build a nuclear bomb.  The talks have lasted for seven weeks so far. Meanwhile, President Trump and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff have both said that continuing any enrichment is a non-starter, calling it a “red line”. Tehran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmail Baghaei has said that punishing sanctions must now be ended if any deal is to be agreed and has demanded clarification from the Americans on exactly how this can be achieved, echoing sceptical comments made earlier this year by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A U.S. proposal calling for an end to all enrichment has been delivered to Tehran. Esmail Baghaei has acknowledged receipt of the proposal, but added “Receiving a text certainly does not mean accepting it, nor does it even mean that it is acceptable.” It seems likely that the mullahs will reject the U.S. proposal, despite comments by the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi who says it will be “responded to in line with the principles, national interests and rights of the people of Iran”.

A report requested by the IAEA’s 35-nation board of governors last November, accused the Iranian regime of concealing undeclared nuclear sites and activities. The findings were presented to a meeting of the IAEA board on June 9, and will allow the U.S., Britain, France and Germany to declare Iran in violation of its non-proliferation treaty obligations. Predictably, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has slammed the report, claiming the agency had used “forged documents provided by the Zionist regime [Israel]” that reiterated “previous biased and baseless accusations”. Now the U.S., Britain, France, and Germany are reportedly preparing a “heavy resolution” for the upcoming IAEA board meeting, that will formally declare Iran in “non-compliance” with its obligations, a momentous step not taken since 2006. If they do so, it will pave the way for Iran to be referred to the UN Security Council, probably in September, activating the “snapback” mechanism, leading to the automatic reinstatement of ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions, and placing the regime under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. This in turn would designate the mullahs’ regime as an international threat, opening the way for military action against its clandestine nuclear sites. Until that time, President Trump has asked Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to guarantee that he will not take unilateral military action against Iran.

In blind panic, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has refuted allegations in the IAEA report of undeclared sites and activities, claiming that it has always provided the agency with all necessary access to its nuclear sites. He has warned that Iran will “retaliate if European powers that have threatened to reimpose nuclear sanctions “exploit” it. His empty threats have exposed the Iranian regime’s dire predicament. They are confronted with a stark choice: either capitulate completely, abandoning their decades-long quest for nuclear weapons, or continue to defy the U.S., the EU, UK and Israel, with the looming threat of more crippling sanctions and even military intervention. Indeed, President Trump has said: “They don’t want to be blown up. They would rather make a deal,” adding: “That would be a great thing that we could have a deal without bombs being dropped all over the Middle East.”

The mullahs now face the dilemma of a disintegrating economy, spiralling inflation, a collapsing currency and the spectre of a nationwide uprising that could drive them from power. In a bid to quell dissent and terrorize the Iranian people, they have resorted to a frenzy of executions, with more than 1,300 men and women, mostly political prisoners, hanged in the 10 months since Masoud Pezeshkian – the so-called ‘moderate’ president, assumed office last summer. Truck drivers mounted a countrywide strike in protest at poor pay and conditions, effectively shutting down the regime’s economy. Iran is a tinderbox, ready to explode. The mullahs’ desperate gamble on a nuclear bomb is not only a threat to global peace but also an attempt to project strength amidst profound domestic weakness and naked fear of its own population.

It is time for the West to wake up and smell the coffee. Western leaders can no longer afford to be conned by the mullahs’ manoeuvrings and machinations. The IAEA report shows clear evidence of a systematic clandestine nuclear weapons program, for which the regime must be held accountable. The time for appeasement is over. The nuclear threat must be dismantled, and the West should show their support for the beleaguered Iranian people, who long for the overthrow of this tyrannical regime.