By Lalit K JhaWashington, Oct 13 (PTI) Ending months of suspense, theWhite House today announced President Donald Trump's new Iranstrategy which focuses on neutralising Tehran's allegeddestabilising influence in the region, but stops short ofkilling a landmark nuclear deal.
Developed in consultation with President Trump's nationalsecurity team, the new strategy is the culmination of ninemonths of deliberation with Congress and US allies on how tobest protect American security, the White House said.
Trump is scheduled to address the nation on the new Iranstrategy later tonight.
"Most importantly, we will deny the Iranian regime allpaths to a nuclear weapon," the White House said.
Highlighting the core elements of the strategy, it saidthe US will revitalise its traditional alliances and regionalpartnerships as bulwarks against Iranian subversion andrestore a more stable balance of power in the region.
"We will work to deny the Iranian regime – and especiallythe Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – funding for itsmalign activities...We will counter threats to the US and ourallies from ballistic missiles and other asymmetric weapons,"the White House said.
The new strategy does not declare the IRGC a terroristorganisation, but says the US will rally the global communityto condemn the IRGC's gross violations of human rights and itsunjust detention of American citizens and other foreigners.
According to the White House, the Iranian regime'sactivities severely undercut whatever positive contributionsto "regional and international peace and security" the JointComprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) sought to achieve.
Even with regard to JCPOA itself, the Iranian regime hasdisplayed a disturbing pattern of behaviour, seeking toexploit loopholes and test the international communityÂ’sresolve, alleged the Trump Administration.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known asIran nuclear deal, was signed by Iran and 5+1 group ofcountries (Britain, China, France, Russia, the US and Germany)in 2015 under which Iran agreed to freeze its nuclearprogramme for 15 years in exchange for sanctions relief.
Noting that Iranian military leaders have stated publiclythat they will refuse to allow International Atomic EnergyAgency (IAEA) inspections of their military sites, the WhiteHouse said that these statements fly in the face of IranÂ’scommitments under JCPOA and the Additional Protocol.
"Not long ago these same organisations hid nuclearfacilities on military sites. This behaviour cannot betolerated; the deal must be strictly enforced, and the IAEAmust fully utilise its inspection authorities," it said.
Underscoring the need for a comprehensive strategy, theWhite House alleged that the previous administration's myopicfocus on Iran's nuclear programme to the exclusion of theregime's many other malign activities allowed Iran's influencein the region to reach a high-water mark.
Over the last decade and a half, the US policy has alsoconsistently prioritised the immediate threat of Sunniextremist groups over the longer-term threat of Iranian-backedmilitancy, it said.
In doing so, the United States has neglected IranÂ’ssteady expansion of proxy forces and terrorist networks aimedat keeping its neighbours weak and unstable in hopes ofdominating the greater Middle East, the White House rued.
"The Trump administration will not repeat thesemistakes," the White House said.
The Trump administration will accomplish these objectivesthrough a strategy that neutralises and counters Iranianthreats, particularly those posed by the IRGC.
Alleging that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and theIRGC have pursued a steady policy of spreading a revolutionaryideology aimed at undermining the international system andmany states by force and subversion, the White House said thatunder Khamenei, Iran exports violence, destabilises itsneighbours, and sponsors terrorism abroad.
The reckless behaviour of the Iranian regime, and theIRGC in particular, poses one of the most dangerous threats tothe interests of the US and to regional stability, it claimed.
It said the Iranian regime has taken advantage ofregional conflicts and instability to aggressively expand itsregional influence and threaten its neighbours with littledomestic or international cost for its actions.
According to the White House, the full range of theIranian regime's malign activities extends well beyond thenuclear threat it poses, including ballistic missiledevelopment and proliferation; material and financial supportfor terrorism and extremism; support for the Assad regimeÂ’satrocities against the Syrian people; and hostility to Israel.
It also includes consistently threatening freedom ofnavigation, especially in the Persian Gulf; cyber-attacksagainst the US, Israel, and AmericaÂ’s other allies andpartners in the Middle East; grievous human rights abuses; andarbitrary detention of foreigners, including United Statescitizens, on specious charges and without due process.
Countering IRGC would be one of the key element of thisnew strategy.
The White House said American partners in theinternational community agree with the US that the IRGCÂ’sreckless behaviour threatens international peace and security.
"For all these reasons, we want to work with our partnersto constrain this dangerous organisation," it said. PTI LKJZH.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.