Steny Hoyer: GOP rescission cuts a ‘charade,’ would cut only $1B

House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer called President Trump’s requested spending clawbacks a “charade” Monday, on the grounds that the cuts would reduce federal spending by only $1 billion.

Last week, Trump sent an official request to Congress to rescind $15 billion in funds that haven’t been spent. The request, favored by House Republican leadership, allows for expedited consideration in Congress, meaning that Senate Democrats could not block the cuts through the filibuster.

Yet, on Friday, the Congressional Budget Office said in an official estimate of the proposal that it would result in the government spending only $1 billion less over the long term. That’s because most of the proposed clawbacks apply to funding that Congress appropriated but that agencies haven’t spent, and that the CBO expects that the agencies never would have spent most of it.

The report “reveals Republicans' rescission argument for the charade it is,” said Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat.

Hoyer also compared the $1 billion in spending cuts to the $1.8 trillion price tag for the Republican-passed tax law.

The Trump administration, has said the rescissions package is just the first of spending cuts that Trump will request under the special procedure.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/steny-hoyer-gop-rescission-cuts-a-charade-would-cut-only-1b

Putin reaffirms Russia's commitment to Iran nuclear deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin has underscored Moscow's readiness to remain committed to a landmark nuclear deal Iran signed with major powers in 2015 despite the US move to pull out from the agreement.

Russia’s Permanent Representative to the Vienna-based IAEA Mikhail Ulyanov made the comments while speaking to reporters following a meeting between the Russian president and the UN nuclear agency's chief in Sochi on Monday.

"As far as Iran is concerned, the president reaffirmed Russia’s readiness to continue fulfilling the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, the nuclear deal) regardless of the United States’ decision to withdraw from it," Ulyanov said.

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano, for his part, expressed the IAEA's readiness to act strictly within the scope of its competences, in accordance with its charter and instructions issued by its governing agencies such as the Board of Governors, the Russian envoy added, Presstv Reported.

"The important thing is that Mr. Amano confirmed unequivocally that as of now, Iran continues to fully implement its obligations under the JCPOA," Ulyanov pointed out.

The US president announced on May 8 that Washington was walking away from the JCPOA, which was reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the US, Britain, France, Russia and China – plus Germany.

He also said he would reinstate US nuclear sanctions on Iran and impose "the highest level" of economic bans on the Islamic Republic.

Iran has said it would remain in the JCPOA for now, pending negotiations with the other signatories in the coming weeks before making a final decision on its future role in the agreement.

In a letter written to the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on May 10, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the US president's "unilateral and unlawful" decision to withdraw from the JCPOA and to re-impose nuclear-related sanctions shows "a complete disregard for international law."

"These acts constitute a complete disregard for international law and the United Nations Charter, undermine the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes, endanger multilateralism and its institutions, indicate a regress to the failed and disastrous era of unilateralism, and encourage intransigence and illegality," Zarif said in the letter published on Monday on the website of the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

France, Britain resolute on JCPOA preservation

Foreign ministers of France and Britain also on Monday voiced their determination to save the Iranian nuclear deal, despite the US pulling out.

"Our position is one of determination and unity, of will to keep this agreement alive," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said following talks with his British counterpart Boris Johnson in London.

He added that Washington's exit from "an international agreement does not mean that the international agreement is null and void."

Paris and London are determined to preserve the nuclear accord "as long as Iran respects it," he said, describing the agreement as "win-win."

"Our position is… united with the German position," said the French politician, on the eve of a scheduled meeting between the Iranian, French, British and German foreign ministers in Brussels.

Johnson, for his part, said Britain and France have resolve to "conserve the essence" of the JCPOA.

"Tomorrow in Brussels, we are going to have a conversation about what we can do to help UK firms and help European firms have confidence that they can still do business," he added.

He also stressed that it was "vital that we continue to engage with the US."

At the start of a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif said he wanted "assurances" from the JCPOA's signatories that Iran's interests would be fulfilled.

"The final aim of these negotiations is to seek assurances that the interests of the Iranian nation will be defended," Zarif said.

He was in Moscow after he paid a visit to Beijing on Sunday.

In a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, the Iranian foreign minister said he seeks a "clearer image" of the future of the key nuclear agreement after the US withdrawal.

Zarif expressed hope that with this visit to China and other countries within the next two days, the sides would be able to depict a clearer vision of the nuclear deal's futur

http:// www.iran-daily.com/News/215069.html

Zarif: US exit from nuclear deal ‘complete disregard for intl. law’

Iran says US President Donald Trump's "unilateral and unlawful" decision to withdraw from a key 2015 nuclear agreement and to re-impose nuclear-related sanctions shows "a complete disregard for international law."

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made the remarks in a letter written to the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on May 10, two days after Trump defied protests and last-minute lobbying by his European partners and unilaterally decided to withdraw from the historic nuclear accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and re-impose sanctions on Tehran.

"These acts constitute a complete disregard for international law and the United Nations Charter, undermine the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes, endanger multilateralism and its institutions, indicate a regress to the failed and disastrous era of unilateralism, and encourage intransigence and illegality," Zarif said in the letter published on Monday on the website of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Presstv Reported.

He added that the Islamic Republic has scrupulously implemented its undertakings under the nuclear deal as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly and consistently verified.

"Unlike the Islamic Republic of Iran, …the United States has consistently failed – since “implementation day”, and particularly after the assumption of office by President Trump – to abide by its commitments under the JCPOA," the top Iranian diplomat said.

Since the JCPOA Implementation Day in January 2016, the IAEA has been monitoring Iran’s compliance with its nuclear-related commitments under the nuclear deal and has consistently verified the Islamic Republic’s compliance.

The UN's nuclear agency on May 1 reiterated that it has "no credible indications of activities in Iran relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device after 2009," citing its assessments from 2015.

In his letter to the UN chief, the Iranian foreign minister pointed to the most significant cases of US non-performance of its commitments which he had cited in 12 official letters to the EU foreign policy chief, in her capacity as coordinator of the JCPOA Joint Commission, and noted that the US "had been persistently violating the terms of the agreement almost from its inception, even preventing other JCPOA participants from fully performing their obligations."

"I urge the United Nations to keep the United States accountable for its unilateral and irresponsible conduct which will detrimentally affect the rule of law, multilateralism, and the very foundations of diplomacy," Zarif pointed out.

A senior advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Saturday the United States stands to suffer the most after its move to withdraw from the JCPOA.

Ali Akbar Velayati, the Leader's advisor on international affairs, said, "The Islamic Republic of Iran fully protects its independence and will by no means bow to their (Americans’) bullying and we have proved this over the past 40 years."

Iran has said it would remain in the JCPOA for now, pending negotiations with the other signatories in the coming weeks before making a final decision on its future role in the agreement.

http:// www.iran-daily.com/News/215062.html

Commerce secretary reconsiders ZTE ban 'very promptly' after Trump tweet

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross suggested Monday that the administration would address a recently imposed sales ban on telecommunications firm ZTE Corp. separately from a trade dispute between the U.S. and China.

A day earlier, President Trump weighed in on behalf of ZTE, saying on Twitter that he had ordered the Commerce Department to find a solution to the standoff, which had prompted the firm to halt business in the U.S.

The department's Bureau of Industry and Security in April imposed a seven-year ban on the sale of products or software to ZTE by any U.S. company, asserting that the firm had made false statements to U.S. regulators in the aftermath of sanctions over violations of a U.S. trade embargo against Iran.

President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2018

Ross, speaking at a luncheon at the National Press Club, said he expected a Chinese trade delegation to bring up the issue during a trip to the U.S.

“Our position has been that that’s an enforcement action separate from trade,” he said. “The question is: Are there alternative remedies to the one that we had originally put forward? And that’s the area that we will be exploring very, very promptly.”

White House deputy press secretary Lindsey Walters said after Trump's tweet that Ross will exercise “his independent judgment, consistent with applicable laws and regulations, to resolve the regulatory action involving ZTE, based on its facts.”

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that a deal was close between the U.S. and China to lift the sales ban. In exchange, China would reportedly not impose a number of recently announced tariffs on U.S. agriculture products.

Spokespersons for the Commerce Department's security bureau and the National Security Council didn't respond to inquiries about the report.

Both ZTE and Chinese firm Huawei Technologies have capitalized on lower-priced telecommunications equipment to drive record profits. ZTE, the smaller of the two companies, posted 39 percent earnings growth at the start of 2018.

Huawei, the world’s third-largest smartphone manufacturer, reported a 38 percent increase in profits for the same period. The company is reportedly under investigation by the Justice Department for potentially violating U.S. sanctions on Iran. ZTE was previously fined $1.2 billion for violating Iran and North Korea-related sanctions.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/business/commerce-secretary-reconsiders-zte-ban-very-promptly-after-trump-tweet

How Hamas works to force Israel's hand at the Gaza border

Dozens of Palestinians were killed on Monday, when Israeli soldiers fired on them as they attacked the Israeli border around Gaza. But while this loss of life is tragic, the Israeli Defense Forces had little choice but to use lethal force here.

The challenge is that Hamas forces Israel's hand in threatening Israeli citizens and mitigating the efficacy of less lethal Israeli defensive measures.

While the Israelis do employ tear gas and baton rounds in an attempt to disperse and drive back protesters, those weapons alone are not sufficient to disperse thousands of people spread across a comparatively large open area. Israeli soldiers face a lethal threat from the many Palestinian protesters who employ sling shots and improvised incendiary devices against them. Israeli commanders have a terrible responsibility in balancing the protection of their force with avoiding civilian casualties.

And although Hamas has a strategic interest in seeing Palestinian bodies filled with Israeli bullets, Hamas’ tactical sophistication is decisively underestimated by most observers. The television images of Palestinians being wounded while protesting belie the fact that a coordinated Hamas operation is underway behind the scenes.

Consider that during the border clashes, Hamas ground commanders maintain a command structure that allows them to rapidly move crowds into different positions and to conceal fighters behind those crowds and burning tires (large numbers of Hamas fighters typically disguise themselves as rock throwing civilians). Moreover, Hamas pushes teenage boys, children and women toward the front of the crowd, knowing that their deaths will generate more negative media coverage toward Israel. The AFP video footage below gives a good insight into all these tactics.

At a distance, Hamas sniper teams also attempt to pin down and kill IDF soldiers. Hamas tactics here are not focused solely on killing soldiers, but also on provoking IDF personnel to excessive retaliation. And sometimes they succeed.

Ultimately, from Israel's perspective there are two critical rationales for using lethal force: protecting the border and establishing strategic deterrence. The Israelis know that if Palestinian protesters are allowed to reach the border, they will be emboldened to do so even more aggressively in the future. The IDF will thus do whatever is necessary to prevent that outcome and Hamas will thus smile amid the bodies of its fellow citizens.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/how-hamas-works-to-force-israels-hand-at-the-gaza-border

>>1409944

The Con's should be ConVicted, every last one of them.

>>1409953

I saw that earlier, which makes me wonder if that is why the turn around on ZTE.

Europe prepares to fight US sanctions on Iran

European leaders plan to fight President Trump’s effort to renew sanctions on Iran, which could end up hitting European companies, top diplomats said Monday.

“France rejects the principle of extraterritorial sanctions,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a Monday bulletin. “We ask the United States to ensure that sanctions do not apply to French and European companies that trade with Iran or invest there, in keeping with the nuclear agreement. France is acting to protect its companies.”

Iran has threatened to resume its nuclear enrichment if European nations fail to support investment with the regime. But Trump’s exit from the deal marks an attempt to cut off all business with the West, in order to increase pressure on the regime, even at the risk of an economic confrontation with major allies.

Still, European officials made it clear they will defend their right to maintain current economic ties to Iran.

“The UK and France are determined to conserve the essence of the Iran nuclear deal, and when I say the essence of the Iran nuclear deal, it’s a trade-off and a sensible trade off,” British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said after a meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. “[T]he advantage from the Iranian point of view is that they should have some benefits from economic participation, economic engagement with us in the West.”

U.S. officials believe that allies have little choice but to go along with Trump’s plan, because of the threat of an American crackdown on anyone who invests in Iran. By refusing to grant another waiver under federal law for the sanctions, Trump is set to bring back into force a suite of provisions that crack down on companies that invest in major sectors of the economy.

“We’re the hottest place to invest, in the energy sector, in the world,” Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, told the Washington Examiner. “For an administration official to be able to go to a European energy company and say, ‘you have a choice, Iran vs the United States energy sector,' that’s powerful leverage.”

The sanctions laws also lock Iranian partners out of the U.S. financial system, making it difficult for European governments to insulate companies from Trump’s decision.

“I do not see a simple solution to shield companies from all risks of American sanctions,” German Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told local press Sunday, according to Reuters.

They hope to develop such a plan this week, in consultation with Iranian and European Union officials.

"We are determined to do that," Johnson said. "And as far as we possibly can, to protect businesses from the effect of American primary and secondary sanctions and as you know, there is a time delay between the imposition of the secondary sanctions and so that gives us a bit of a margin to work on our response."

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/europe-prepares-to-fight-us-sanctions-on-iran

>>1410082

Why are you so triggered? What bothers you about this article?

>>1410126

Interesting!! I wasn't trying to convince you of anything, I have no horse in this race. I do believe all sides of a story deserved to be heard. Don't you? Stunning how you can judge an anon by a post, I believe you should check your

judgemental disorder.