{"id":140710,"date":"2019-08-19T12:00:04","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T11:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=140710"},"modified":"2019-08-26T11:11:38","modified_gmt":"2019-08-26T10:11:38","slug":"here-are-five-lies-about-iran-that-we-need-to-refute-to-stop-another-illegal-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2019\/08\/here-are-five-lies-about-iran-that-we-need-to-refute-to-stop-another-illegal-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Here Are Five Lies about Iran That We Need to Refute to Stop another Illegal War"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/iran-usa-military-bases-mena-pentagon.png\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-133722 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/iran-usa-military-bases-mena-pentagon-300x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/iran-usa-military-bases-mena-pentagon-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/iran-usa-military-bases-mena-pentagon-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/iran-usa-military-bases-mena-pentagon.png 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><em>14 Aug 2019 &#8211; <\/em>Forget uranium enrichment: Has Iran mastered time travel?<\/p>\n<p>Last month, the Trump White House put out a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/John_Hudson\/status\/1145779093348200449\" >typically Orwellian statement<\/a>, chock-filled with lies, distortions, and half-truths about Iran and the 2015 nuclear deal. One line in particular stood out from the rest: \u201cThere is little doubt that even before the deal\u2019s existence, Iran was violating its terms.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">strange wording in this new White House statement on Iran. &quot;There is little doubt that even before the deal\u2019s existence, Iran was violating its terms.&quot; \ud83e\udd14 <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6b8Wizod2p\" >pic.twitter.com\/6b8Wizod2p<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; John Hudson (@John_Hudson) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/John_Hudson\/status\/1145779093348200449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >July 1, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Huh? The Iranians were violating an agreement \u2014\u00a0<em>before it even existed<\/em>?<\/p>\n<p>Is it any surprise that even the foreign minister of Iran took to Twitter to join the online ridiculing of the White House?<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Seriously? <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/oZApumVt2T\" >pic.twitter.com\/oZApumVt2T<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Javad Zarif (@JZarif) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JZarif\/status\/1145856200262737921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >July 2, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration\u2019s lies on the topic of Iran are now beyond parody. There is, however, nothing funny about them.\u00a0U.S. government lies can have deadly consequences: Never forget that <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2006\/oct\/11\/iraq.iraq\" >hundreds of thousands<\/a> of innocent Iraqi men, women, and children, not to mention <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/Newsroom\/Casualty-Status\/\" >more than 4,400 U.S. military personnel<\/a>, are dead today because of the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/policy-and-politics\/2019\/3\/20\/18274228\/ari-fleischer-iraq-lies-george-w-bush-wmds\" >sheer volume of falsehoods<\/a> told by the George W. Bush administration.<\/p>\n<p>So it is incumbent upon journalists to do in 2019 what we collectively<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2013\/03\/11\/opinion\/kurtz-iraq-media-failure\/index.html\" > did not do<\/a> in 2003: Check the facts, challenge the lies, debunk the myths.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s my contribution: a refutation of five of the most dishonest and inaccurate claims from the hawks \u2014 claims that brought the United States and Iran to the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/06\/20\/world\/middleeast\/iran-us-drone.html\" >brink of conflict<\/a> only a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lie #1: Iran Is Building a Nuclear Weapon<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump has <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefings-statements\/remarks-president-trump-joint-comprehensive-plan-action\/\" >referred<\/a> to Iran\u2019s \u201cquest for nuclear weapons\u201d and claimed the Islamic Republic will soon be \u201con the cusp of acquiring the world\u2019s most dangerous weapons.\u201d Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2018\/apr\/30\/netanyahu-accuses-iran-cheating-nuclear-deal\" >argued<\/a>, \u201cEven after the deal, Iran continued to preserve and expand its nuclear weapons program for future use.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The truth is that while it is accurate to speak of an Iranian nuclear program, which is legal under the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/disarmament\/wmd\/nuclear\/npt\/\" >Non-Proliferation Treaty<\/a>, it is an utter lie to speak of an Iranian nuclear <em>weapons<\/em> program \u2014 as <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/05\/13\/world\/middleeast\/us-military-plans-iran.html\" >countless<\/a> news <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/un-nuclear-watchdog-chief-dies-amid-uncertainty-over-irans-nuclear-program\/2019\/07\/22\/8d587fc6-ac55-11e9-a0c9-6d2d7818f3da_story.html\" >organizations<\/a> have<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/news\/9511534\/iran-produce-nukes-blitz-britain-america-jeremy-hunt\/\" > also done<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As long ago as 2007, the U.S. intelligence community produced a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dni.gov\/files\/documents\/Newsroom\/Reports%20and%20Pubs\/20071203_release.pdf\" >National Intelligence Estimate<\/a>\u00a0on Iran which offered what then-President George W. Bush would <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.co.uk\/david-morrison\/us-uturn-on-enrichment-ma_b_7806266.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMiaHWIoym1IljH721bKL9zdC1KAmwvMjpVQq5bA0rsuPZmBSOLTeo-AbHf4odje6WnQ1SWO-e9j8xhTtuV-29nizWcQ1jM3xwbm6Vwa6ILwKWGjbHIs2Y52YlPFXJqUzngGpnkWHpbmDDQRI-krKG0GsUvnZmSnzc5LmMJq0SXz\" >later describe<\/a> in his memoir as a \u201cstunning\u201d and \u201ceye-popping\u201d conclusion that \u201ctied my hands on the military side\u201d: \u201cWe judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nothing has changed since then. In January, then-Director of National Intelligence, Trump appointee, and former Republican congressman Dan Coats reaffirmed the consensus view of 16 U.S. intelligence agencies when he <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dni.gov\/files\/ODNI\/documents\/2019-ATA-SFR---SSCI.pdf\" >told<\/a> the Senate: \u201cWe continue to assess that Iran is not currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development activities we judge necessary to produce a nuclear device.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nuclear weapons program? What nuclear weapons program?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lie #2: Iran Violated the Nuclear Deal<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed that Iran was not sticking to the terms of the agreement \u2014 prior to the administration itself violating the agreement by <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/trump-will-announce-plans-to-pull-out-of-iran-nuclear-deal-despite-pleas-from-european-leaders\/2018\/05\/08\/4c148252-52ca-11e8-9c91-7dab596e8252_story.html\" >unilaterally pulling out<\/a> and reimposing economic sanctions on Iran.<\/p>\n<p>The president <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefings-statements\/remarks-president-trump-iran-strategy\/\" >claimed<\/a> Iran \u201ccommitted multiple violations.\u201d Hawkish Republican Sen. Tom Cotton <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cotton.senate.gov\/?p=press_release&amp;id=750\" >accused<\/a> Tehran of having \u201crepeatedly violated the terms of the deal.\u201d So did Mark Dubowitz, head of the neoconservative Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, who <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/show\/trump-signals-might-pull-iran-nuclear-deal-whats-stake\" >said<\/a>, \u201cIran is incrementally violating the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the U.N.\u2019s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, published <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iaea.org\/newscenter\/focus\/iran\/iaea-and-iran-iaea-reports\" >more than a dozen reports<\/a> confirming that Iran was fully complying with the terms of the deal. In April 2018, then-Defense Secretary James Mattis\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/385094-mattis-defends-iran-deal-as-trump-considers-withdrawal\" >described<\/a> the nuclear agreement as \u201cpretty robust.\u201d Even the then-head of the Israeli military, Gen. Gadi Eisenkot,\u00a0said<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.haaretz.com\/israel-news\/.premium-israeli-military-chief-despite-its-faults-iran-nuclear-deal-works-1.5962099\" > in March 2018<\/a> that the deal \u201cwith all its faults\u201d was \u201cworking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Last month, Iran\u2019s foreign minister, Javad Zarif,\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/07\/01\/middleeast\/iran-uranium-intl\/index.html\" >announced<\/a> that the country\u2019s stockpiles of enriched low-grade uranium would exceed the 300-kilogram limit laid out in the nuclear agreement \u2014 provoking a flurry of condemnations from <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-mideast-iran-usa-france\/frances-macron-condemns-iranian-violation-of-2015-nuclear-commitments-idUSKCN1U209M\" >Western<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-mideast-iran-britain\/uk-foreign-minister-hunt-worried-by-irans-breach-of-nuclear-deal-idUSKCN1TW32L\" >governments<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/behind-irans-new-aggressiveness-11562109741\" >op-ed columnists<\/a>. But let\u2019s be clear about the order of events: The Iranian violation of one particular aspect of the deal came more than a year after the United States violated the entire deal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lie #3: Iran Is the Leading State Sponsor of Terror<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIran remained the world\u2019s leading state sponsor of terrorism,\u201d <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/reports\/country-reports-on-terrorism-2017\/\" >declared<\/a> the State Department in September 2018. The Islamic Republic has been \u201cthe world\u2019s central banker of international terrorism since 1979,\u201d <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-usa-counterterrorism-bolton\/u-s-counterterrorism-strategy-puts-new-focus-on-iran-and-proxies-idUSKCN1ME2HB\" >claimed<\/a>\u00a0national security adviser John Bolton a few weeks later. In June, Trump <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2019\/06\/chance-trump-refuses-rule-iran-military-action-190605082216565.html\" >called<\/a> Iran the \u201cnumber one terrorist nation\u201d in the world.<\/p>\n<p>This makes no sense. Few would dispute the fact that Tehran has provided support, funds, and weaponry to Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which have been designated \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/foreign-terrorist-organizations\/\" >Foreign Terrorist Organizations<\/a>\u201d by the U.S. government (though it is also worth noting that millions of Palestinians and Lebanese see them as resistance groups that are fighting against Israeli occupiers).<\/p>\n<p>Yet the \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Archives\/video\/sept-15-2001-president-declares-war-terror-10877347\" >war on terror<\/a>\u201d declared by Bush in the wake of the 9\/11 attacks has been fought against Sunni jihadist groups such as Al Qaeda, ISIS, and\u00a0the Shabab \u2014 none of which are backed by Shia-majority Iran.<\/p>\n<p>According to the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/visionofhumanity.org\/app\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Global-Terrorism-Index-2018.pdf\" >Global Terrorism Index 2018<\/a>, compiled by the Institute for Economics &amp; Peace, more than half of the deaths caused by terrorists around the world in 2017 were a result of attacks by four groups: ISIS, the Taliban, the Shabab, and Boko Haram. Again, the experts agree that none of these groups are sponsored by Iran.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, it is Iran\u2019s biggest regional rival, Saudi Arabia, which has been <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/08\/26\/world\/middleeast\/saudi-arabia-islam.html\" >accused<\/a> of arming, funding, and providing <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/08\/23\/opinion\/isis-atrocities-started-with-saudi-support-for-salafi-hate.html\" >Salafi ideological cover<\/a> for many of these jihadists \u2014 including by this president.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho blew up the World Trade Center?\u201d Trump <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2017\/05\/18\/donald-trump-said-saudi-arabia-was-behind-911-now-hes-going-there-on-his-first-foreign-trip\/\" >asked<\/a> on Fox News during the 2016 election campaign. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t the Iraqis, it was Saudi \u2014 take a look at Saudi Arabia, open the documents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If any nation deserves the dubious distinction of being \u201cthe world\u2019s leading state sponsor of terrorism,\u201d it is the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/wikileaks.org\/plusd\/cables\/09STATE131801_a.html\" >Kingdom of Saudi Arabia<\/a>, not the Islamic Republic of Iran.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lie #4: Iran Working with Al Qaeda<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By conjuring up a fictitious alliance between Iran and Al Qaeda, the Trump administration has found a novel way of both justifying the \u201cnumber one terrorist nation\u201d tag <em>and<\/em> providing legal cover for a future U.S. attack on Tehran.<\/p>\n<p>The president has <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefings-statements\/remarks-president-trump-iran-strategy\/\" >claimed<\/a> that Tehran \u201cprovides assistance to Al Qaeda.\u201d Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, during his tenure as CIA chief, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/weekly-standard\/pompeo-al-qaeda-iran-connection-an-open-secret\" >suggested<\/a> it is an \u201copen secret\u201d that \u201cthere have been relationships\u201d and \u201cthere have been times the Iranians have worked alongside Al Qaeda.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Bush administration\u2019s attempt to link secular Saddam Hussein with the theocratic fanatics of Al Qaeda sounded preposterous to <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2002\/09\/30\/opinion\/saddam-hussein-and-al-qaeda-are-not-allies.html\" >many of us<\/a> back in 2002 and 2003. It was a dumb lie. Yet the Trump administration, and its <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fdd.org\/analysis\/2018\/08\/08\/the-al-qaeda-iran-connection\/\" >hawkish outriders<\/a> at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, now want us to believe that the sectarian Sunni killers of Al Qaeda have formed an alliance with Iran, a hard-line Shia theocracy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve never seen any evidence of active collaboration,\u201d Jason Burke, author of \u201cAl-Qaeda: Casting a Shadow of Terror,\u201d\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/11\/29\/opinion\/is-trump-going-to-lie-our-way-into-war-with-iran.html\" >told me<\/a> in 2017. The relationship between Al Qaeda and Iran is \u201cnot one of alliance\u201d but \u201chighly antagonistic,\u201d <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ctc.usma.edu\/app\/uploads\/2012\/05\/CTC_LtrsFromAbottabad_WEB_v2.pdf\" >concluded<\/a> a report by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point in 2012.<\/p>\n<p>The Iran-Al Qaeda conspiracy theory is an especially dangerous one. The <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/107\/plaws\/publ40\/PLAW-107publ40.pdf\" >2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force<\/a>, passed by Congress in the wake of 9\/11, allows the president to \u201cuse all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons.\u201d As Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/06\/19\/us\/politics\/us-iran.html\" >told<\/a> the New York Times in June, Trump administration officials \u201care looking to bootstrap an argument to allow the president to do what he likes without coming to Congress, and they feel the 2001 authorization will allow them to go to war with Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lie #5: War\u00a0on Iran Would Be Easy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is perhaps the dumbest lie of all. Trump has <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realdonaldtrump\/status\/1130207891049332737\" >threatened<\/a> \u201cthe official end of Iran.\u201d His pal in the Senate, Tom Cotton, has <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/cotton-america-win-war-against-iran-two-strikes\" >predicted<\/a> that the United States could win a war with Tehran with just two strikes: \u201cThe first strike and the last strike.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To call such statements absurd would be an understatement. Iran isn\u2019t Iraq. As Col. Larry Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Colin Powell, told me on a recent episode of my podcast, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/06\/20\/iran-crisis-have-we-learned-nothing-from-the-iraq-war\/\" >Deconstructed<\/a>, a conflict with the Islamic Republic \u201cwould be horrible\u201d:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Four times almost the size of Iraq, 80 million, not 26 million people, homogeneity to the population that Iraq certainly didn\u2019t have, 51 percent Persian. Terrain \u2026 that\u2019s just inhospitable, almost killed Alexander the Great, for example. This would be a vicious, long-term guerrilla campaign waged by the Iranians over 10 or 15 years. And at the end of it, it would look about like Iraq did in 2011. And it would cost $2 trillion and lots of lives and more than anything else, it would require at least a half a million troops.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In other words, it would be a disaster of epic proportions. Let\u2019s be clear: Many of the accusations leveled by Western governments and Western media organizations against Iran \u2014 it is a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/world-report\/2019\/country-chapters\/iran\" >serial<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/countries\/middle-east-and-north-africa\/iran\/\" >violator<\/a> of human rights; it is <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/iran-expands-role-in-syria-in-conjunction-with-russias-airstrikes-1443811030\" >complicit<\/a> in Bashar Assad\u2019s murderous attacks on his own people; it <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/iran-seeking-rebuild-ties-between-two-israels-most-bitter-enemies-670028\" >backs<\/a> Hamas and Hezbollah, it is a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/international\/archive\/2015\/01\/the-hypocrisy-of-irans-holocaust-cartoon-contest\/385058\/\" >promoter<\/a> of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/worldnews\/middleeast\/iran\/12126576\/Supreme-leader-of-Iran-marks-Holocaust-Memorial-Day-by-publishing-Holocaust-denying-video.html\" >anti-Semitism<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 are undeniably true. But\u00a0the five lies that are constantly deployed by politicians and pundits to justify military action against Iran, and even <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2017\/06\/25\/trump-iran-foreign-policy-regime-change-239930\" >regime change<\/a> in Tehran, are flat-out false. And if they are not called out, we will soon find ourselves embroiled in another bloody Middle East conflict that will make the war in Iraq look like a walk in the park.<\/p>\n<p>_________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><em>Related:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/06\/20\/iran-crisis-have-we-learned-nothing-from-the-iraq-war\/\" ><strong>Iran Crisis: Have We Learned Nothing From the Iraq War?<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/06\/19\/donald-trump-iran-and-the-gulf-of-tonkin-redux\/\" ><strong>Donald Trump, Iran, and the Gulf of Tonkin Redux<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/05\/17\/us-media-journalists-iran-coverage\/\" ><strong>Four Simple Steps the U.S. Media Could Take to Prevent a Trump War With Iran<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/05\/28\/arms-manufacturers-investors-iran-business\/\" ><strong>Arms Manufacturers Tell Investors That Iran Tension Fuels Business<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mehdi-hasan-1488221651-440x440-e1534255643915.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-116661\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/mehdi-hasan-1488221651-440x440-e1534255643915.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/staff\/mehdihasan\/\" >Mehdi Hasan<\/a> &#8211; <a href=\"mailto:mehdi.hasan@theintercept.com\">mehdi.hasan@\u200btheintercept.com<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/08\/14\/trump-iran-worst-lies\/\" >Go to Original \u2013 theintercept.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>14 Aug 2019 &#8211; The Trump administration is lying about Iran and its nuclear program. The media has to debunk this false drumbeat for war.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":116661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,57,48,65,66],"tags":[120,267,504,742,378,234,635,109,287,380,249,70,126,118],"class_list":["post-140710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weapons-of-mass-destruction","category-militarism","category-in-focus","category-anglo-america","category-middle-east-north-africa","tag-conflict","tag-geopolitics","tag-international-relations","tag-iran","tag-journalism","tag-media","tag-nuclear-power","tag-politics","tag-power","tag-solutions","tag-trump","tag-usa","tag-violence","tag-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}