Mike Whitney – The Unz Review April 6, 2025

The Trump administration is demanding that Iran give up its strategic missile program as part of any nuclear deal. But Iran’s ballistic missiles do not violate international law nor is there any global treaty under which they are banned. Article 51 of the UN Charter clearly states that countries have the sovereign right to develop conventional weapons for self-defense which means that Iran’s missile program is perfectly legal. Iran has every right to build as many missiles as it wants, and it is not required to get Washington’s approval to do so. More importantly, Iran needs these missiles to defend itself against any potential attack by the United States and Israel. This is not simply a matter of Iran’s sovereign right to self-defense, but an issue of regional security that has been greatly undermined by persistent US-Israel hostilities across the Middle East. A strong, well-armed Iran serves as a deterrent to US-Israel intervention which increases the prospects for peace in the region.

Trump has also ordered Iran to end its relations with regional allies Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. If we link this demand with Trump’s order that Iran abandon its ballistic missile program, we can better understand his overall strategic goal which is to weaken and isolate Iran to the point where it is unable to defend itself against American aggression. That is the clear objective of this latest political kabuki; to goad Iran into laying the groundwork for its own destruction.

When we mull-over these new demands, we cannot help but wonder, “Does any of this have anything to do with Iran’s nuclear enrichment program or is it all just a ruse aimed at concealing Trump’s real motive, the disarming of Iran? Indeed, if we consider the facts as I have presented them here, it does not appear that Trump seeks negotiations at all, but is simply putting a gun to Iran’s head and saying, “Drop the weapon and no one gets hurt.” Isn’t that a more accurate description of what’s going on? Check out this excerpt from an article at Iran International:

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday ruled out the possibility of negotiation with the United States, in his first public speech after President Donald Trump said he sent a letter to him.

“The insistence of some bullying governments on negotiations is not aimed at resolving issues but rather at asserting dominance and imposing their demands,” Khamenei said in a meeting with Iranian officials in Tehran. “The Islamic Republic of Iran will certainly not accept their demands,” he added….

Responding to Khamenei’s rejection of Trump’s call to negotiate a nuclear agreement, the White House on Saturday reiterated the US president’s assertion that Tehran can be dealt with either militarily or by making a deal.

“We hope the Iran regime puts its people and best interests ahead of terror,” White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement.

Lebanese pro-Iranian TV channel Al Mayadeen reported Saturday Tehran had refused to enter nuclear negotiations with the United States under the conditions set by the current US administration.

No talks on missile capabilities, regional influence

Khamenei said the West’s issue is not just Tehran’s nuclear program. “Rather, for them, negotiations are a means to raise new demands, including restrictions on defense capabilities and international influence.”…

While Tehran maintains that its ballistic missile program is purely defensive, the West considers it a destabilizing factor in a volatile, conflict-ridden Middle East. Khamenei rejects negotiation with US in first speech after Trump’s letter, Iran International

As you can see, Iranian media confirms what we said earlier, that Trump’s demands are not aimed at denuclearization, but disarmament and isolation. We will provide more evidence for this later on.

The western media has done an excellent job of obfuscating the facts on this matter and have patched together a makeshift narrative that blames Iran for a crisis which is entirely Trump’s fault. Fortunately, (as the article states) Iran is refusing to be bullied by Trump, which is not just admirable, but smart, too. Some readers might recall what happened to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who was toppled by US-backed forces more than a decade ago. Gaddafi was tricked into giving up his WMD programs—including his nuclear, chemical, and ballistic missile capabilities—after which he was overthrown and savagely killed by NATO-led forces in 2011. His willingness to disarm led to his untimely death and the subsequent annihilation of his country. Iran must not follow that same course of action. It must enlarge its arsenal and prepare for war.

Readers may also remember that Trump pulled a similar maneuver with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. In February 2019, Trump’s negotiating team—led by National Security Advisor John Bolton—met in Hanoi to conduct denuclearization talks. During the negotiations (in which Kim showed genuine interest to commit to “complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization”), Bolton added a poison pill provision at the 11th-hour that made an agreement impossible. He demanded that Kim give up not only his nuclear weapons program but also his ballistic missile capabilities. This demand was a key sticking point that reflected the Trump administration’s broader goal of the complete disarmament (and eventual destruction) of the DPRK. In short, Trump moved the goalposts at the last possible minute and sabotaged the deal, thus, eliminating the possibility of a North-South reconciliation and a denuclearized Korean Peninsula. This is the untold history of the Trump-Kim negotiations that never appeared in the media. The “peace candidate” deliberately scuppered his own initiative.

A similar storyline is unfolding as we speak, only the stakes are much higher. We are literally on the brink of a war that could kill millions of civilians and plunge large parts of the world into chaos.

It’s worth noting, that there is no legal basis for Trump’s demands. No country, however powerful, has the right to dictate whether another country can have ballistic missiles, or who they can have as allies, or whether they can develop nuclear energy or not. Under Article IV of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT):

All parties to the treaty have “the inalienable right” to develop research, production, and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination. This includes the right to participate in the fullest possible exchange of equipment, materials, and scientific and technological information for peaceful purposes.

Iran not only signed the NPT, it has also repeatedly shown its willingness to allay the suspicions of its critics by agreeing to additional protocols and “confidence-building” measures that no other member has ever been required to make. In other words, they have allowed themselves to be treated like second-class citizens who must follow specially designed restrictions just to placate their perennial antagonists in Washington and Tel Aviv. Is that fair?

The international community, including the UN and IAEA, has consistently affirmed that Iran, like any NPT signatory, has a legitimate right to peaceful nuclear energy. This was a key premise of the JCPOA, which allowed Iran to maintain a limited enrichment program (up to 3.67%) under strict monitoring in exchange for sanctions relief.

In other words, Iran agreed to the onerous inspection regime imposed by the United States and acted in good faith expecting that Washington would ‘keep its word’ and hold up its end of the bargain. But the US broke its word when Trump impulsively shrugged off his obligations and walked away.

But, why? Why did Trump abandon the JCPOA when the treaty employed a hyper-vigilant inspections regime that ensured that Iran was not diverting enriched uranium to a secret nuclear weapons program?

Why?

Because of Israel, that’s why. Because it was never about “secret nuclear weapons programs”. That was always the fake pretext for hectoring, harassing and demonizing Iran. The real objective is on full display in Trump’s list of demands. What he wants is the complete dismantling of Iran’s defensive weapons systems accompanied by Iran’s forced isolation and military encirclement. The United States and Israel want a vulnerable Iran that will collapse into anarchy following the massive (nuclear) air-strikes and decapitation operations that are coming in the near future. The goal is to make sure that Israel emerges as the dominant power in the region.

By the way, Elon Musk’s AI progeny, Grok, agrees with our basic analysis on this matter. Check it out:

As of April 3, 2025, during his second term as U.S. President, Donald Trump is demanding a comprehensive set of concessions from Iran to reach a new nuclear deal or any broader agreement. His approach, dubbed “maximum pressure 2.0,” builds on his first-term policies but is more aggressive, aiming not only to curb Iran’s nuclear program but also to dismantle its regional influence and military capabilities…

Here’s a detailed breakdown of what Trump is demanding, based on public statements, policy documents, and reports:

1. 1. Complete Halt and Rollback of Nuclear Program
      No Enrichment.… Dismantle Infrastructure… the destruction or international control of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, including centrifuges and heavy water reactors. … “verifiable dismantlement” of all nuclear-related facilities, per a White House fact sheet.… Permanent Inspections: “24/7 access” to all sites, including military ones. (Grok)

(Note—None of the above conditions are required under the terms of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). Trump is simply concocting whatever restrictions come-to-mind so he can claim “noncompliance” and launch air-strikes.) Here’s more from Grok:

1. 2. Abandonment of Ballistic Missile Program—Full Dismantlement: Trump demands Iran give up its entire ballistic missile program, including short-, medium-, and long-range missiles like the Shahab, Emad, and Khorramshahr series….
   3. (Iran must) Sever Ties with Regional Proxies and Allies….
      Hezbollah, Houthis, Hamas: Trump insists Iran cut all financial, military, and political support for groups like Hezbollah (Lebanon), the Houthis (Yemen), and Hamas (Gaza), which he labels “terrorist proxies.” (Grok)

As you can see, none of this has anything to do with nuclear enrichment, secret weapons programs or nonproliferation. What we’re seeing is the predictable behavior of a politician who was shoehorned into the Oval Office on the back of more than $100 million in campaign contributions from wealthy Zionist donors. IMHO, those donations were made with a clear understanding that Trump would launch a war on Israel’s most formidable enemy, Iran.

The United States is being dragged into another Middle East bloodbath as payback to the Israeli donor class.

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