Photos: Wikimedia Commons
National Iranian American Council (NIAC) President Jamal Abdi has released the following statement in response to President Trump’s claims that he suspended plans to strike Iran’s power plants amid supposed progress in negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz:
“We are hopeful that there is real opportunity for diplomacy to end the war. We hope the president isn’t negotiating with himself for social media and TV cameras to calm the markets while there is really no end to this war in sight.
“It should shock Americans that, before this apparent pullback, our commander-in-chief is threatening war crimes and to blow up power plants in Iran. While this may be an attempt by the president to seize escalation dominance back from Iran, this notion is punctured by the fact that Iran would likely respond to such crimes with its own heinous attacks on power plants and civilian infrastructure in the region, upping the ante even further against the U.S., its partners, and the global economy.
“That’s why diplomacy is critical right now.
“However, the president has severely undermined the U.S. power of diplomacy as well. President Trump’s past two attempts at diplomacy with Iran ended in surprise attacks by Israel, supported by the U.S., and has created the impression that the president uses talks as cover for Israel to launch military strikes. Unless the president is willing to seriously negotiate and can also restrain Israel from sabotaging an agreement, the war will continue and the possibility of escalation, whether by putting boots on the ground or committing war crimes, will take this war even further from a possible end point.”
