"Maximum Pressure" policy is alienating US's traditional allies

Speaking to ILNA news agency, the expert in international affairs said "Trump took a hard line on Iran in the first place because he believed talking tough would win him votes with right wing Republicans.

He pointed to "Maximum pressure" policy and added that Trump's strategy has alienated the US's traditional allies and made it more likely that Iran will develop its nuclear technology.

The US professor added "Iran recent policy to reduced commitments of JCPOA (a 2015 nuclear deal) is not a good thing for Iran to mirror the US in stepping away from the agreement.  Such actions on either side will merely serve to the interests of extremists in each country.

Martin Flaherty does not believe that negotiation with Trump's administration has successful results, adding "One possible hope is that the impeachment crisis may cause Trump to defer to responsible officials at the State Department and Pentagon.  But that is a long shot."

Asked whether the US government's statements about Iran recent unrest is not mean to interfering in internal affairs, the expert said "Violations of international human rights law are not a matter of any country's internal affairs.  (See Art. 55 & 56 of the UN Charter, the UDHR, the ICCPR, the ICESCR, CAT, CERD, etc.). "

"If any state, whether Iran or the US, does not want to be criticized for human rights violations by the UN, other states, or NGOs, the answer is not to erroneously argue that such violations are a matter of internal affairs or sovereignty.  The answer is to end the violations."

Martin S. Flaherty is the Leitner Family Professor of International Human Rights Law and founding codirector of the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law School. He is also a longtime visiting professor at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

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