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from the We-have-always-been-at-war-with-Eurasia dept.
Iran Doesn't Have a Nuclear Weapons Program. Why Do Media Keep Saying It Does?
When it comes to Iran, do basic facts matter? Evidently not, since dozens and dozens of journalists keep casually reporting that Iran has a "nuclear weapons program" when it does not—a problem FAIR has reported on over the years (e.g., 9/9/15). Let's take a look at some of the outlets spreading this falsehood in just the past five days:
Business Insider (10/13/17): "The deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), aims to incentivize Iran to curb its nuclear weapons program by lifting crippling international economic sanctions."
New Yorker (10/16/17): "One afternoon in late September, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called a meeting of the six countries that came together in 2015 to limit Iran's nuclear weapons program."
Washington Post (10/16/17): "The administration is also considering changing or scrapping an international agreement regarding Iran's nuclear weapons program."
CNN (10/17/17): "In reopening the nuclear agreement, [Trump] risks having Iran advance its nuclear weapons program at a time when he confronts a far worse nuclear challenge from North Korea that he can't resolve."
The problem with all of these excerpts: There is no documentation that Iran has a nuclear weapons program.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 23 2017, @12:51PM
Why?
Because the alternative is even worse - for the people in charge, that is.
Iran is building nuclear weapons - this is something they can deal with. Sanctions, preemptive strikes, Stuxnet, etc...
but
Iran is building nuclear reactors because it doesn't have enough oil left for both export and domestic use, and only export gives them the money the need. They can't export nuclear power, other countries have their own power plants, so the option they have is exporting whatever oil is left.
Of course the current US administration cannot admit this, because that would destroy everything they argue about oil, global warming, etc. What use is it to pretend that global warming is a hoax, if even Iran doesn't have enough oil anymore?