US Gives Iran New List of Demands

Now that the US has withdrawn from the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, what would it take to strike a new deal? A lot, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo revealed Monday in a speech outlining US demands, reports the Wall Street Journal, the AP, CNN, and Al Jazeera. Pompeo listed 12 things Iran must do, including:

• Stop the enrichment of all uranium
• Allow "unqualified access" to all nuclear sites
• Withdraw all forces from Syria
• Release all US citizens in custody
• Stop its threats to destroy Israel
• Halt its support for militant groups in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon
• Declare all previous efforts to build a nuclear weapon

"Relief from sanctions will come only when we see tangible, demonstrated, and sustained shifts in Tehran's policies," said Pompeo in a speech at the Heritage Foundation. “We acknowledge Iran's right to defend its people. But not its actions which jeopardize the world's citizens.” The gist of coverage from the above sources suggests that the odds of Iran agreeing to the demands are virtually nonexistent. "There is such an enormous trust deficit between the US and Iran that Iranian leaders are likely to really shrug this off as yet more angry rhetoric coming from the Trump White House," per Al Jazeera. (More Mike Pompeo stories.)