‘Raising alarms’: How ‘influential’ Republicans are waging war on Trump’s own intel team
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
‘Raising alarms’: How ‘influential’ Republicans are waging war on Trump’s own intel team
Politico reports that some Republicans are pushing for war with Iran. The move is a departure from the more isolationist approach of the past. The U.S. has been at odds with Israel over Iran since the 1980s, according to the report. The White House says it will continue to work with Israel on a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program. The Obama administration has been pushing for a deal that would end Iran’s use of nuclear weapons, the report says, but the White House has not agreed to it.
In an article published on June 10, Politico reporters Rachael Bade and Felicia Schwartz detail the infighting among Republicans over Iran.
“An influential group of GOP hawks has launched a behind-the-scenes lobbying offensive pressing President Donald Trump to not only back off his administration’s quest for a nuclear deal with Iran, but greenlight an attack on Tehran by Israel,” the journalists explain. “The campaign is raising alarms among Trump and his allies, who have launched a counteroffensive to keep the president’s diplomacy on track.”
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According to Bade and Schwartz, far-right radio host Mark Levin is among the Republicans pushing for a hawkish policy on Iran. Levin, they report, is claiming that Iran is close to building a nuclear weapon, while members of Trump’s intelligence team are disputing that claim.
“Levin urged Trump to allow the Israeli government to strike Iranian nuclear sites, which Trump has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would torpedo the diplomacy,” Bade and Schwartz explain. “Levin has been waging a public war against Trump’s longtime friend and special envoy leading talks, Steve Witkoff.”
Meanwhile, some of Rupert Murdoch’s media outlets, according to the Politico reporters, have “savaged Witkoff” and promoted Levin’s position.
A senior Trump Administration official, interviewed on condition of anonymity, told Politico, “They’re trying to push the president to make a decision that’s not what he wants…. There’s clearly a lobby for war with Iran versus those who are more aligned with the president, that know he is the one that has been able to bring them to the negotiating table.”
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Read the full Politico article at this link.
Source: https://www.alternet.org/iran-trump-levin-murdoch/