Dispute flares among U.S. officials over Trump administration Iran arms control report

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Source: Reuters

WORLD NEWS APRIL 17, 2019 / 8:00 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

Exclusive: Dispute flares among U.S. officials over Trump administration Iran arms control report

Jonathan Landay, Arshad Mohammed
7 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new Trump administration report on international compliance with arms control accords provoked a dispute with U.S. intelligence agencies and some State Department officials concerned that the document politicizes and slants assessments about Iran, five sources with knowledge of the matter said.

U.S. President Donald Trump is intensifying a drive to contain Iran’s power in the Middle East, which has raised fears that his administration wants to topple the Tehran government or lay the groundwork to justify military action.

The administration says it is trying to halt Iranian “malign behavior” in its support for Islamist militants in the region and denies seeking the overthrow of the Islamic republic’s government.

The clash among U.S. officials emerged on Tuesday when the State Department posted on its website, and then removed, an unclassified version of an annual report to Congress assessing compliance with arms control agreements that the sources saw as skewed Iran.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-arms-armscontrol-exclusive/exclusive-dispute-flares-among-u-s-officials-over-trump-administration-iran-arms-control-report-idUSKCN1RT2R2

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Several sources said the report, which reappeared without explanation on Wednesday, made them wonder if the administration was painting Iran in the darkest light possible, much as the George W. Bush administration used bogus and exaggerated intelligence to justify its 2003 invasion of Iraq.