President Trump: Iran's Military Budget Has Increased By 40% Since The Nuclear Deal (It Is Actually More Than 50%)

Iran’s Military Budget is up more than 40% since the Obama negotiated Nuclear Deal was reached...just another indicator that it was all a big lie. But not anymore!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2018

Daily Mail: Trump claims Iran's military budget has gone up 40 per cent since Obama's nuclear deal and says it's proof they weren't being honest

* Trump made the claim in a tweet on Saturday, calling the nuclear deal 'a big lie'
* Claim is somewhat exaggerated; Iran's spending increased 30% since 2015 deal
* Trump announced on Tuesday that he was withdrawing from Iran nuclear deal

President Donald Trump has again claimed that Iran's military budget has increased 40 per cent since sanctions were lifted under the nuclear deal, a somewhat exaggerated claim.

'Iran's Military Budget is up more than 40% since the Obama negotiated Nuclear Deal was reached...just another indicator that it was all a big lie. But not anymore!,' Trump tweeted on Saturday night.

It was the second time he'd made the claim, after stating it in his speech on Tuesday announcing that the US would reimpose sanctions on Iran, effectively scuttling the deal.

Read more ....

Update: Trump: Iran's military budget proves nuclear deal was 'a big lie' (The Hill)

WNU Editor: The press is saying that President Trump's 40% claim is an exaggeration .... that the number is more around 30% .... Trump repeats misleading claim on Iran's military budget (CNN)

To justify this claim, the pres are using data taken form SIPRI. So being someone who does not trust the press, I decided to do my own research. According to SIPRI own numbers, this is how much Iran has increased its budget since the nuclear deal ....

2015 .... 15.40%
2016 .... 15.20%
2017 .... 15.80%

In other-words .... using the date of the agreement of the Iran nuclear deal to be April 2, 2015 as our starting point .... Iran's military budget has increased by 53% (give or take). In short .... it is far worse than what President Trump is saying .... and definitely far greater than the 30% that media outlets like CNN, New York Times, and others are saying. It should also be noted that these numbers do not include the budget increases for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards .... especially since they have done most of the fighting in Iraq and Syria.

Iran Reveals Its War And Defense Strategy

From Yahoo News:

Iran Test-Fires More Missiles In Persian Gulf

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran test-fired more long-range missiles overnight in a second round of exercises meant to show that the country can defend itself against any attack by the U.S. or Israel, state television reported Thursday.

The weapons have "special capabilities" and included missiles launched from naval ships in the Persian Gulf, along with torpedoes and surface-to-surface missiles, the broadcast said. It did not elaborate.

A brief video clip showed two missiles being fired simultaneously in the darkness trailed by red plumes of fire and smoke.

The report came hours after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran that Washington will not back down in the face of threats against Israel.

Read more ....

More News On Iran Missile Tests

US warns Iran on missile threat -- BBC News
Iran Launches More Test Missiles, Draws Rebuke From Rice -- Washington Post
Iran test-fires more missiles in war games -- The Telegraph
Iran defies US criticism with further missile launches -- Times Online
Report: Iran test-fires more missiles -- MSNBC
Iran Test-Fires More Missiles in Persian Gulf -- ABC News
Tel Aviv, U.S. Vessels 'First Targets' as Iran Tests Missiles -- New York Sun
Review And Outlook: Iran's Missile Threat -- Wall Street Journal
White House downplays Iran conflict risk -- AFP
Rice: U.S. will protect interests, allies -- UPI
Rice Warns Iran That U.S. Will Defend Allies -- New York Times
Rice: U.S. Will Defend Israel From Iran -- CBS News
Iran tests more missiles as U.S. vows to defend allies -- Reuters
Israel hints at readiness to strike Iran -- Breitbart
U.S. source disputes Iran missile tests -- CNN
Is Tehran Bluffing? -- Pajamas Media
Iran Flexes Its Missiles; Russia Objects to US Shield -- Pajamas Media
More Theater Over Iran's Nukes -- Time Magazine
Will Iran's missile test force the region to war? -- Newsweek
French energy giant opts out of Iran -- Jerusalem Post
OPEC chief warns of 'unlimited' oil prices if Iran is attacked -- International Herald Tribune

My Comment: Talk about bad timing .... on the day that Russia protests and threatens the Czech-U.S. Anti-Missile Agreement, the Iranians decide to test their medium-term missiles.

The Iranian leadership is under tremendous stress from within. The story of Total, France's large energy giant opting out of Iran because of the instability within the country speaks volumes. Even being promised numerous and generous concessions .... the French still walked away. The French walking away from easy money .... not. They have analyzed the situation very closely, and do not like what they see on the ground.

Iran's war posturing is not to threaten us, but to threaten their own citizens. To divert them away from the problems that they must face everyday. High inflation. High unemployment. Fuel rationing. Food rationing. There is no solution to this crisis for now .... so like all dictatorships they threaten and hope that their threats will silence their internal critics.

Only time will tell us if they will succeed.