White House Adviser Stephen Miller Warns Iran Must De-Nuke or Face Escalation

"Get your act together, get behind the peace program": White House adviser Stephen Miller says Iran must de-nuke

Washington DC, July 15

Speaking during an interview with Fox News, Miller said that the Iranian people have the responsibility to determine their country's future, but claimed that elements within the military and other institutions continue to oppose peace.

Miller said, "Look, as the President has said all along, the people of Iran, the citizens of Iran have an obligation to chart the future that they feel is best and right for themselves,'

He argued that internal fractures in Iran demonstrate the success of President Trump's approach. He said, "It's actually a sign of how successful President Trump's policy has been that you have these fractures and fissures inside the country. In other words, that's proof the strategy is working," Miller said, adding that for 47 years "there wasn't an inch of daylight" but now there are " giant canyon-sized fissures as the country is fighting amongst itself for its future."

Miller said the United States was urging Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions. He said, "America is saying 'get your act together, get behind the peace program, de-nuke, get rid of the nuclear weapons, and you can have any future you want.'"

Reiterating the administration's position, Miller said, "The number one state sponsor of terror cannot possess the world's deadliest weapons."

He added that President Trump was acting to avert future threats and for that, he should be "endlessly applauded."

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) warned that the United States would start targeting Iranian power plants and bridges "next week" as part of its border strikes on the Islamic Republic, unless Tehran returns to the negotiating table.

He further cautioned that Iran would not "have anybody left" if it failed to reach a deal with Washington.

Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Trump said the United States would intensify its military campaign against Iran in the coming days unless negotiations resume.

"We're going to hit them very hard tomorrow night. We're going to hit them very hard the night after, and then next week it gets really bad for them, because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges. We're going to knock out all their power plants. We're going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate," Trump told Fox News.

Trump's remarks come as US military strikes on Iran have continued for a fourth consecutive day following the collapse of the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran to end the hostilities in West Asia.

According to CNN, US and Iranian representatives remain in contact, but the Trump administration has maintained that negotiations cannot move forward while Iran continues to limit maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

From the Iranian side, the IRGC on Tuesday warned that the oil and gas export routes of the United States' allies could also be targeted after claiming strikes on the US Navy's Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain, saying, "the region's oil and gas exports are either for everyone or for no one."

According to the IRGC announcement, the force said it carried out the fifth wave of Operation Nasr 2, codenamed 'Mubarak Ya Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS)', and "smashed and destroyed" the NSI management centre [NSA Bahrain (Naval Support Activity Bahrain)], the command and control centre, large warehouses containing military parts and equipment, and fuel tanks at the US Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain.

The statement accused the United States of deploying its naval forces in the Indian Ocean and "claiming control of the Strait of Hormuz," alleging that Washington had effectively closed ocean routes to ships and deprived the world of the region's oil and gas.

The IRGC further warned, "The enemy should know that now that his bandits have closed the route for oil and gas exports to the world from the Indian Ocean, which endangers the interests of America's economic rivals, they should wait for the closure of other oil and gas export routes that serve the interests of America and its allies. The region's oil and gas exports are either for everyone or for no one."

— ANI