White House Statement on Some Details of Trump's Speech Regarding Iran

In a statement released by the White House just hours before President Trump's speech today (October 13), it is mentioned that he will address certain points, stating that the time has come for the world to join the United States in urging Iran to end its "destructive and deadly" actions. The White House statement, published as a fact sheet prior to the announcement of the new U.S. strategy towards Iran, reads: "We will revitalize our traditional alliances and regional partnerships to form strengths against Iran's sabotage and establish a more stable balance of power in the region." Another part of this fact sheet states that this strategy will focus on neutralizing the Islamic Republic's actions in "destabilizing" the Middle East, Tehran's "aggressive" actions, particularly its support for "terrorist and militant" groups, and its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. The statement adds that "we will confront threats posed by ballistic missiles and other asymmetric weaponry directed at the United States and our allies." It further states that "we will particularly block all of Iran's pathways to nuclear weapons." The statement mentions that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) provides financial resources for "sabotage" activities in the region by destroying the "wealth and assets" of the Iranian people, and the U.S. government intends to prevent this military group's actions. However, the White House fact sheet does not specify whether Trump will designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization in his speech. Iranian officials had previously warned the U.S. President that such an action would be considered a "declaration of war" and would receive an "appropriate response." The statement also condemns the "widespread human rights violations" by the IRGC in detaining American citizens and citizens of other foreign countries on "strange" charges. Additionally, it highlights the important point of blocking all possible pathways for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. Donald Trump is set to announce the new U.S. strategy regarding Iran today at 12:45 PM (Washington time). He has repeatedly described the nuclear agreement between Iran and major world powers, reached during Barack Obama's presidency in July 2015, as the "worst" agreement ever signed by the United States. According to U.S. law, the government must certify Iran's compliance with the terms of the JCPOA every three months and assess it against U.S. national interests. The U.S. government has confirmed Iran's compliance in this regard twice so far. If the U.S. government does not certify Iran's compliance to lawmakers, Congress will have 60 days to decide on sanctions against Iran. U.S. officials announced on Friday that Donald Trump will strongly criticize Iran's policies in the Middle East in his speech today but will not raise the option of Washington withdrawing from the nuclear agreement with major world powers.