

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.


Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.

Amid mounting concerns about possible war with Iran after the Trump administration ditched a decades-old bilateral treaty in response to an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on Wednesday that U.S. sanctions violate it, National Security Adviser John Bolton announced a review of all international agreements that could lead to more binding decisions by the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
"John Bolton and the Trump administration are turning us away from international accountability and cooperation and towards war and unilateral aggression."
--Win Without War
Bolton also revealed that President Donald Trump "has decided that the United States will withdraw from the optional protocol on dispute resolution to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," which gives the ICJ authority to hear diplomatic disputes.
As motivation for the withdrawal, he pointed to "a case brought by the so-called state of Palestine" challenging Trump's widely condemned decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem.
While Bolton, a longtime warmonger, insisted that "the United States remains a party to the underlying Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," critics quickly raised alarm about what the developments could mean for the future of U.S. diplomacy, especially with Iran and the Palestinian Authority.
"Bolton is basically announcing that the U.S. is becoming a rogue state," tweeted journalist Aaron Rupar. "The drums of war can be heard in the distance."
"John Bolton and the Trump administration are turning us away from international accountability and cooperation and towards war and unilateral aggression," concluded Win Without War.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had provoked similar alarm on Wednesday morning when he announced Trump's decision to terminate the 1955 Treaty of Amity with Iran after the ICJ ordered the administration to ease sanctions impacting humanitarian aid and aviation safety.
Earlier this year, as tensions were rising after Trump left the Iran nuclear deal, Reuters reported that Bolton and Pompeo were backing the administration's "offensive of speeches and online communications meant to foment unrest and help pressure Iran to end its nuclear program and its support of militant groups."
Addressing reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Bolton declared, "The United States will not sit idly by as baseless politicized claims are brought against us."
The Palestinian complaint announced by the ICJ last Friday argues that Trump violated the Vienna Convention when he moved the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem earlier this year because the treaty requires embassies to be located on the territory of a host state and Israeli control of Jerusalem is disputed.
While Bolton pointed to the case as a reason why the U.S. is withdrawing from the protocol, he later said the move "really has less to do with Iran and the Palestinians than with the continued consistent policy of the United States to reject the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, which we think is politicized and ineffective."
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 has always been 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, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |

Amid mounting concerns about possible war with Iran after the Trump administration ditched a decades-old bilateral treaty in response to an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on Wednesday that U.S. sanctions violate it, National Security Adviser John Bolton announced a review of all international agreements that could lead to more binding decisions by the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
"John Bolton and the Trump administration are turning us away from international accountability and cooperation and towards war and unilateral aggression."
--Win Without War
Bolton also revealed that President Donald Trump "has decided that the United States will withdraw from the optional protocol on dispute resolution to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," which gives the ICJ authority to hear diplomatic disputes.
As motivation for the withdrawal, he pointed to "a case brought by the so-called state of Palestine" challenging Trump's widely condemned decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem.
While Bolton, a longtime warmonger, insisted that "the United States remains a party to the underlying Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," critics quickly raised alarm about what the developments could mean for the future of U.S. diplomacy, especially with Iran and the Palestinian Authority.
"Bolton is basically announcing that the U.S. is becoming a rogue state," tweeted journalist Aaron Rupar. "The drums of war can be heard in the distance."
"John Bolton and the Trump administration are turning us away from international accountability and cooperation and towards war and unilateral aggression," concluded Win Without War.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had provoked similar alarm on Wednesday morning when he announced Trump's decision to terminate the 1955 Treaty of Amity with Iran after the ICJ ordered the administration to ease sanctions impacting humanitarian aid and aviation safety.
Earlier this year, as tensions were rising after Trump left the Iran nuclear deal, Reuters reported that Bolton and Pompeo were backing the administration's "offensive of speeches and online communications meant to foment unrest and help pressure Iran to end its nuclear program and its support of militant groups."
Addressing reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Bolton declared, "The United States will not sit idly by as baseless politicized claims are brought against us."
The Palestinian complaint announced by the ICJ last Friday argues that Trump violated the Vienna Convention when he moved the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem earlier this year because the treaty requires embassies to be located on the territory of a host state and Israeli control of Jerusalem is disputed.
While Bolton pointed to the case as a reason why the U.S. is withdrawing from the protocol, he later said the move "really has less to do with Iran and the Palestinians than with the continued consistent policy of the United States to reject the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, which we think is politicized and ineffective."

Amid mounting concerns about possible war with Iran after the Trump administration ditched a decades-old bilateral treaty in response to an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on Wednesday that U.S. sanctions violate it, National Security Adviser John Bolton announced a review of all international agreements that could lead to more binding decisions by the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
"John Bolton and the Trump administration are turning us away from international accountability and cooperation and towards war and unilateral aggression."
--Win Without War
Bolton also revealed that President Donald Trump "has decided that the United States will withdraw from the optional protocol on dispute resolution to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," which gives the ICJ authority to hear diplomatic disputes.
As motivation for the withdrawal, he pointed to "a case brought by the so-called state of Palestine" challenging Trump's widely condemned decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem.
While Bolton, a longtime warmonger, insisted that "the United States remains a party to the underlying Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," critics quickly raised alarm about what the developments could mean for the future of U.S. diplomacy, especially with Iran and the Palestinian Authority.
"Bolton is basically announcing that the U.S. is becoming a rogue state," tweeted journalist Aaron Rupar. "The drums of war can be heard in the distance."
"John Bolton and the Trump administration are turning us away from international accountability and cooperation and towards war and unilateral aggression," concluded Win Without War.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had provoked similar alarm on Wednesday morning when he announced Trump's decision to terminate the 1955 Treaty of Amity with Iran after the ICJ ordered the administration to ease sanctions impacting humanitarian aid and aviation safety.
Earlier this year, as tensions were rising after Trump left the Iran nuclear deal, Reuters reported that Bolton and Pompeo were backing the administration's "offensive of speeches and online communications meant to foment unrest and help pressure Iran to end its nuclear program and its support of militant groups."
Addressing reporters at the White House on Wednesday, Bolton declared, "The United States will not sit idly by as baseless politicized claims are brought against us."
The Palestinian complaint announced by the ICJ last Friday argues that Trump violated the Vienna Convention when he moved the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem earlier this year because the treaty requires embassies to be located on the territory of a host state and Israeli control of Jerusalem is disputed.
While Bolton pointed to the case as a reason why the U.S. is withdrawing from the protocol, he later said the move "really has less to do with Iran and the Palestinians than with the continued consistent policy of the United States to reject the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, which we think is politicized and ineffective."