US officials are continuing to express demands that Iran get rid of its nuclear weapons program. This is a long-standing demand, and Iran is well aware of it. The problem is Iran doesn’t have such a program, and has repeatedly disavowed ever having a program in the future.



They might as well not bother to have spent the last 16 years disavowing arms, with hawkish John Bolton clearly acting like it never happened, saying the US is determined to “increase the pressure on the Iranian regime until it abandons its nuclear weapons program.”



Iran’s Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami reiterated on Monday that Iran will never pursue a nuclear weapon, and that the whole world knows that. The general asked why the world keeps sanctions Iran over the nuclear issue when it clearly isn’t a real issue.



US officials have been reiterating the idea of an Iranian “nuclear threat” so long, and against all reason, that at this point the facts don’t matter for most US officials. Policy is to escalate sanctions, and the escalation has become an end unto itself.



Vice President Mike Pence says the US doesn’t want a war with Iran, but is determined to protect its interests. He too presented the idea that Iran would never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.



This puts Iran in a tough position with the US, because it plainly doesn’t matter what Iran promises, what Iran does, or what Iranian leaders declare as religiously forbidden. The US will always lead with the same nonsensical demand, and US officials will always feel justified with threatening Iran over plain lies.





Author: Jason Ditz Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com. View all posts by Jason Ditz