FACT CHECK: Trump claims about Iran invite scrutiny by writerknowles
While the president did not take questions from the press, here are some statements he made that deserve further scrutiny.
The money was impounded as part of sanctions against Iran designed to keep it from acquiring nuclear weapons and was released after Tehran signed the nuclear deal with the Obama administration that allowed for international inspections of its nuclear program. A small portion of it represented funds that Iran had used to purchase American weapons before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, but that were never delivered.
While it is conceivable that the Iranian missiles that caused “only minimal damage” on Tuesday night were built with money obtained from the unfreezing of Iran’s assets, it is impossible to say for sure. One thing that is certain is that Iran continued to build up its military forces even while under U.S. sanctions.
Story continuesThe Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action puts a cap on Iranian uranium enrichment until 2030, depriving the country of the fuel to make a nuclear bomb for at least 10 more years. Iran also agreed to give up 97 percent of its stockpile of enriched uranium, Politifact reported, and the JCPOA forbids Iran to use plutonium reactors for 13 years.
While the U.S. has made great strides in energy production, that effort began during the Obama administration, when advances in hydraulic fracking ushered in a natural gas boom. Under Obama, the U.S. also increased oil production, the Associated Press reported. Since becoming president, Trump has expanded drilling and rolled back regulations on energy production. The U.S.
While Trump has dramatically increased funding to the U.S. military over the past three years, in the wake of cuts after the end of the Iraq War, much of the actual hardware that money was appropriated for has yet to be built and put into service. “The typical aircraft in the Air Force’s fleet is almost 30 years old, according to figures published by the Office of Management and Budget,” the Washington Post reported.
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