Israel Gives Trump Marching Orders to Escalate the War. What'll the Puppet Do? - The Washington Standard

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

48% : Known as Mount Kolang in Iran, Pickaxe has been under surveillance by the U.S. and Israel for years, and what little is known about Iran's activities at the site suggests it would present challenges to any airstrikes.
42% : Pickaxe wasn't considered a priority to bomb last year during the Israel-Iran war and hasn't been targeted in the round of fighting with the U.S. that began on Feb. 28.
42% : But I give credit to Obama for the JCPOA.
41% : Israel passed along the intelligence findings to the U.S., saying the centrifuges were transferred to the Pickaxe Mountain site last fall after the 12-day war in June when American and Israeli strikes pummeled Iran's three main nuclear sites.
40% : Iran's foreign minister and the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, didn't respond to requests for comment.
39% : As a direct result, Israel and the US coordinated in a military attack that killed moderate Iranian leaders who were in fact willing to negotiate on nuclear weapons.
35% : Israel's New Intelligence Claim The Wall Street Journal reports Israel Believes Iran Moved Nuclear Centrifuges Into Pickaxe Mountain Israeli intelligence believes Iran moved thousands of uranium-enrichment centrifuges into tunnels deep inside a mountain last fall, Israeli and U.S. officials say, a development that would heighten concerns that Tehran could reconstitute its nuclear program.
35% : Key Details on Mattis' Statement and Context: Iran only began stepping back from JCPOA limits (e.g., higher uranium enrichment levels, reduced IAEA access) after Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 and reimposed sanctions -- not before.
23% : As Israel's war aims have increasingly diverged from the U.S.'s, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tried to persuade President Trump to resume all-out attacks on Iran to further set back Tehran's weapons programs and rebuilding effort.
18% : During his first term, President Trump's Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis, stated that Iran was complying with the terms of the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA), despite President Trump's strong opposition to it.
17% : We are here because Israel persuaded Trump to start this stupid war on phony "intelligence" that Iran would easily fall and there would be a mass uprising to topple the regime.

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