Today- Fact check: Trump Iran in Televised Speech--

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Fact check: Trump Iran in televised speech--

Money provisions :

What he said: After suggesting relations began fraying with Iran on Obama's watch with the signing of the nuclear deal, Trump suggested his predecessor gave billions to Tehran.

"And they were given $150 billion, not to mention $1.8 billion in cash. Instead of saying ‘thank you’ to the United States, they chanted 'Death to America.'”

Trump went further to claim: "The missiles fired last night at us and our allies were paid for with the funds made available by the last administration."

Context:
Trump has cited both figures in the past to make the case that the Obama administration gave Iran a gift of billions of dollars. That picture is misleading.

After it signed a multinational deal to restrain its nuclear development in 2015, Iran was allowed access to its own assets, which had been frozen. The U.S. Treasury or other countries did not give Iran $150 billion. Rather, Iran was allowed to gain access to its own money.

As for the $1.8 billion, Iran did get a payment of roughly that amount from the U.S. Treasury.
But that was to pay an old IOU.

In the 1970s, Iran paid the U.S. $400 million for military equipment that was never delivered because the government was overthrown and diplomatic relations ruptured. After the nuclear deal, the U.S. and Iran announced they had settled the matter, with the U.S. agreeing to pay the $400 million principal along with about $1.3 billion in interest.

The $400 million was paid in cash and flown to Tehran on a cargo plane. The arrangement provided for the interest to be paid later.

Susan Rice, a national security adviser under the Obama administration, pointed out after Trump's speech that Iran had ballistic missile technology before the deal was reached.

“Iran has had these sophisticated missiles, they've been developing their capacity for many many years. To say that that money funded the attack on our personnel and on our base is just the most disgraceful kind of lie, of the sort that unfortunately President Trump tells every day.

Regular Member Posts : 7317 Join date : 2014-07-29

Downing of U.S. Drone;

What he said: “In recent months alone, Iran has seized ships in international waters, fired an unprovoked strike on Saudi Arabia, and shot down two U.S. drones.”

Context:
A single U.S. military surveillance drone was downed by Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) in June 2019 as it was flying over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for transporting oil. The IRGC said the aircraft had violated Iranian airspace, and that the incident sent a "clear message to America." However, the Pentagon said the drone was over international waters at the time is was shot down.

At the time, in response to the incident, Trump tweeted: "Iran made a very big mistake!" A month later the US had shot down an Iranian drone that was menacing a US Navy ship in the Persian Gulf.

Regular Member Posts : 7317 Join date : 2014-07-29

Military funding:

Trump has often touted the amount of money his administration is spending on the military, and he did so again during his remarks about Iran on Wednesday.

“The American military has been completely rebuilt under my administration, at a cost of $2.5 trillion. U.S. Armed Forces are stronger than ever before.”

Context:
Trump has freed up additional money for the military as the White House and Congress have brokered budget agreements in recent years to roll back deep sequestration cuts to Defense and non-Defense spending.
However, the president has often overstated the level of investment.

Todd Harrison, a military budget expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Trump’s claim of spending more than $2 trillion on military equipment over the last three years is incorrect.
The Pentagon bought less than half a trillion in equipment over that period, according to Harrison.
Personnel costs, operations and research and development account for much of the remaining balance.

Regular Member Posts : 7317 Join date : 2014-07-29

Planned attacks;

What he said: The Trump administration has justified the U.S. strike last week killing Soleimani by saying the Iranian general was planning additional attacks in Iraq against U.S. troops. “In recent days, he was planning new attacks on American targets,” Trump said in his remarks Wednesday. “But we stopped him.”

Context: Was Soleimani planning an attack that justified his killing? It’s unclear.
Trump administration officials have not offered detailed information in public about the timing or extent of the plots by Soleimani that prompted the order. Soleimani has been linked to sophisticated roadside bomb attacks that killed hundreds of U.S. troops in the Iraq war and more recently rocket fire that killed an American contractor on Dec. 27.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Tuesday made the most definitive statement when he told reporters that the attacks Soleimani was planning were likely days, not weeks, from being launched. Esper cited “exquisite” intelligence about Soleimani’s plans to kill American personnel.
Some Democratic members of Congress, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, have said the Trump administration [u]has failed to offer tangible evidence[u/] that Soleimani’s attacks were imminent.

Assassination? Legal debate rages as Iran retaliates against US for Soleimani killing

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