U.S. President Donald Trump is flanked by National Security Advisor John Bolton as he speaks about the FBI raid at his lawyer Michael Cohen's office, while receiving a briefing from senior military leaders regarding Syria, in the Cabinet Room, on April 9, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
"Clerical Error"? Trump White House Forced to Retract False Claim Iran Has Nuclear Weapons Program
"The details matter when you're talking about nukes, people."
Demonstrating just how easily the Trump administration's mixture of utter incompetence and malicious determination to undermine diplomacy can bring the U.S. to the brink of yet another war in a matter of minutes, the White House issued a statement Monday night falsely declaring that Iran "has a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program"--only to quickly change the statement from "has" to "had" in the face of journalistic reporting and strong backlash.
While the White House was quick to explain away the potentially catastrophic mistake as a mere typo, Brian Beutler of Crooked Media argued this explanation "doesn't withstand scrutiny," given that the "original statement uses the word 'has' twice, strongly suggesting an intent to mislead the global public into believing Iran had covertly reactivated its nuclear weapons program in direct defiance of the agreement."
After admitting its "clerical error" to reporters, the White House quietly deleted its previous tweet publicizing the statement--which came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "bizarre" speech claiming Iran is violating the terms of the nuclear deal--without "offering any apology to those who thought the U.S. was going to war with Iran."
"If Iran no longer has a robust clandestine program, the White House just admitted that the Iran deal is working."
--Trita Parsi, National Iranian American Council
Allusions to the lies leading up to America's 2003 invasion of Iraq have been made frequently over the past several days as President Donald Trump continues to ratchet up tensions with Iran, and observers found it impossible not to make the same comparison following the White House's "error" Monday night--particularly with the experienced intelligence manipulator John Bolton leading Trump's national security team.
Referring to Bolton, Margaret Hartmann of New York Magazine noted that "Trump just brought on a national security adviser who promoted false information to justify the war in Iraq, and has made it very clear that he's interested in bombing Iran."
Iran, for its part, has repeatedly stated in recent days that it has no plans to develop a nuclear weapon, even if U.S. President Donald Trump decides to walk away from the nuclear accord this month.
Even if it were true that Iran was actively attempting to develop a nuke prior to the implementation of the nuclear accord--as the U.S. and Israel are claiming--National Iranian American Council president Trita Parsi notes that the fact Iran is not currently pursuing nuclear weapons is evidence that the agreement has been effective.
"If Iran no longer has a robust clandestine program, the White House just admitted that the Iran deal is working," Parsi wrote on Twitter Monday night.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just two days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Demonstrating just how easily the Trump administration's mixture of utter incompetence and malicious determination to undermine diplomacy can bring the U.S. to the brink of yet another war in a matter of minutes, the White House issued a statement Monday night falsely declaring that Iran "has a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program"--only to quickly change the statement from "has" to "had" in the face of journalistic reporting and strong backlash.
While the White House was quick to explain away the potentially catastrophic mistake as a mere typo, Brian Beutler of Crooked Media argued this explanation "doesn't withstand scrutiny," given that the "original statement uses the word 'has' twice, strongly suggesting an intent to mislead the global public into believing Iran had covertly reactivated its nuclear weapons program in direct defiance of the agreement."
After admitting its "clerical error" to reporters, the White House quietly deleted its previous tweet publicizing the statement--which came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "bizarre" speech claiming Iran is violating the terms of the nuclear deal--without "offering any apology to those who thought the U.S. was going to war with Iran."
"If Iran no longer has a robust clandestine program, the White House just admitted that the Iran deal is working."
--Trita Parsi, National Iranian American Council
Allusions to the lies leading up to America's 2003 invasion of Iraq have been made frequently over the past several days as President Donald Trump continues to ratchet up tensions with Iran, and observers found it impossible not to make the same comparison following the White House's "error" Monday night--particularly with the experienced intelligence manipulator John Bolton leading Trump's national security team.
Referring to Bolton, Margaret Hartmann of New York Magazine noted that "Trump just brought on a national security adviser who promoted false information to justify the war in Iraq, and has made it very clear that he's interested in bombing Iran."
Iran, for its part, has repeatedly stated in recent days that it has no plans to develop a nuclear weapon, even if U.S. President Donald Trump decides to walk away from the nuclear accord this month.
Even if it were true that Iran was actively attempting to develop a nuke prior to the implementation of the nuclear accord--as the U.S. and Israel are claiming--National Iranian American Council president Trita Parsi notes that the fact Iran is not currently pursuing nuclear weapons is evidence that the agreement has been effective.
"If Iran no longer has a robust clandestine program, the White House just admitted that the Iran deal is working," Parsi wrote on Twitter Monday night.
Demonstrating just how easily the Trump administration's mixture of utter incompetence and malicious determination to undermine diplomacy can bring the U.S. to the brink of yet another war in a matter of minutes, the White House issued a statement Monday night falsely declaring that Iran "has a robust, clandestine nuclear weapons program"--only to quickly change the statement from "has" to "had" in the face of journalistic reporting and strong backlash.
While the White House was quick to explain away the potentially catastrophic mistake as a mere typo, Brian Beutler of Crooked Media argued this explanation "doesn't withstand scrutiny," given that the "original statement uses the word 'has' twice, strongly suggesting an intent to mislead the global public into believing Iran had covertly reactivated its nuclear weapons program in direct defiance of the agreement."
After admitting its "clerical error" to reporters, the White House quietly deleted its previous tweet publicizing the statement--which came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "bizarre" speech claiming Iran is violating the terms of the nuclear deal--without "offering any apology to those who thought the U.S. was going to war with Iran."
"If Iran no longer has a robust clandestine program, the White House just admitted that the Iran deal is working."
--Trita Parsi, National Iranian American Council
Allusions to the lies leading up to America's 2003 invasion of Iraq have been made frequently over the past several days as President Donald Trump continues to ratchet up tensions with Iran, and observers found it impossible not to make the same comparison following the White House's "error" Monday night--particularly with the experienced intelligence manipulator John Bolton leading Trump's national security team.
Referring to Bolton, Margaret Hartmann of New York Magazine noted that "Trump just brought on a national security adviser who promoted false information to justify the war in Iraq, and has made it very clear that he's interested in bombing Iran."
Iran, for its part, has repeatedly stated in recent days that it has no plans to develop a nuclear weapon, even if U.S. President Donald Trump decides to walk away from the nuclear accord this month.
Even if it were true that Iran was actively attempting to develop a nuke prior to the implementation of the nuclear accord--as the U.S. and Israel are claiming--National Iranian American Council president Trita Parsi notes that the fact Iran is not currently pursuing nuclear weapons is evidence that the agreement has been effective.
"If Iran no longer has a robust clandestine program, the White House just admitted that the Iran deal is working," Parsi wrote on Twitter Monday night.