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Yesterday, the State Department’s point person on Iran, Brian Hook, held a press briefing on US policy toward Tehran. state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2…
Like much of the administration’s Iran policy, it is filled with contradictions and misleading statements. A quick thread. 1/x
Like much of the administration’s Iran policy, it is filled with contradictions and misleading statements. A quick thread. 1/x
Let’s start with the contradictions. Much of Hook’s statement celebrates the punitive impact of US sanctions, including forcing 100+ companies out of Iran, “taking with them billions of dollars in investment” and triggering Iran’s “most severe economic crisis in 40 years.” 2/x
After detailing the economic pain US sanctions have caused, Hook then pivots to claiming, “the economic crisis is largely of the regime’s own making” due to its economic policies. This, of course, contradicts the prior claims about the mighty power of US sanctions. 3/x
Yes, Iran’s economic policies clearly play a role, but the depth of the crisis is an outgrowth of deliberate US actions. Hook goes on to claim that US policy is “for the benefit… of [Iran’s] own people, who are the longest suffering victims of this regime.” 4/x
Needless to say, triggering the worst economic crisis in 40 years does not benefit the Iranian people, whose access to necessities like food and medicine have been negatively impacted by the sanctions. 5/x cnn.com/2019/02/22/mid…
Now for the misleading parts. Hook’s briefing, as well as State Dept social media posts, are straining to portray US policy as successful, trumpeting a laundry list of “maximum pressure results” which detail the scope and impact of the sanctions. 6/x
But the stated goal of Trump’s policy is to gain Iranian concessions in 12 areas covering its nuclear and missile programs, support for militant groups abroad, and regional behavior. Iran has made exactly 0 of the 12 concessions demanded of it. 7/x
If we take the administration at its own word, this is how we should be judging the success of its policy. While there is evidence of reduced economic support for its proxies, Iran has by no means ended these relationships, as the Trump administration demands. 8/x
A second misleading statement from Hook relates to international support for Trump’s policy. Hook states that “America has not acted alone to counter Iran’s malign behavior,” referencing European opposition to Iranian support for terror and its missile program. 9/x
This is fair enough, but Hook neglects to mention the strong European opposition to the US withdrawal from the JCPOA and the reimposition of nuclear sanctions, as well as European efforts to create a separate payment channel (INSTEX) to evade US penalties. 10/x
Equally misleading is Hook’s claim that an aim of US policy is “ending [Iran’s] pursuit of nuclear weapons.” Crucially, neither the IAEA nor Trump’s own intelligence agencies have offered evidence of an active nuclear weapons program in Iran. 11/x defenseone.com/ideas/2019/01/…
All in all, Hook is exaggerating the success and popularity of US policy, inflating the threat posed by Iran, and refusing to take responsibility for the sanctions' humanitarian impact. In other words: a perfect microcosm of the administration’s Iran policy. 12/12
