Noam Chomsky Quotes

Another mess I inherited, and we have imposed new sanctions on the nation of Iran who has totally taken advantage of our previous administration, and they're the world's top sponsor of terrorism, and we're not going to stop until that problem is properly solved, and it's not properly solved now.

As you know, we don't have relationships with Iran. I mean, that's - ever since the late '70s, we have no contacts with them, and we've totally sanctioned them. In other words, there's no sanctions - you can't - we're out of sanctions.

This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. And having said that, all options are on the table

Iran would do well to look at the calendar and realize there's a new president in the Oval Office. And Iran would do well not to test the resolve of this new president [Donald Trump].

I would have never released the sanctions [for Iran] before there was consistent evidence of compliance.

Donald Trump has the ability to renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal as he says, but if he were to do so, this would be regarded in Tehran as an abrogation of the deal. This would allow the Iranian side of the deal to in effect withdraw because they could say that the United States has not held up its end of the bargain, and therefore we're going to restart our nuclear program.

Now that Iran's actions have been verified, it can begin to receive relief from certain nuclear sanctions and gain access to its own money that had been frozen.

I think Iran deal is on life support, I'll put it that way, but I'm not here to declare one way or the other where it will go. But I do believe it's on life support. I know the president-elect does not like the Iran deal, thinks it's really, really bad. And that's sort of the starting point on that discussion.

Does John Kerry have to give them [Iran] every little thing? You'll pass some sanctions for human rights and missiles, and I'll grudgingly sign on.

In order to threaten Iran, you [America] say that you can secure the energy flow in the region. You are wrong. Beware that if you make the slightest mistake over Iran, the energy flow through this region will be seriously endangered. You will never be capable of providing energy security in this region. You are not capable and you should know this.

I still think, despite everything, that the US is very unlikely to attack Iran. It could be a huge catastrophe; nobody knows what the consequences would be. I imagine that only an administration that's really desperate would resort to that.

For decades, our differences with Iran meant that our governments almost never spoke to each other. Ultimately, that did not advance America's interests.

The deal with Iran is so stupid, it's so insanely stupid, that when people vote for me, they know I don't make deals like that. I get our prisoners back, I don't have 24 day inspection periods, I don't have self-inspection where they inspect themselves, I don't give them $150 billion that they can use for terrorism all over the world.

Like myself, all Americans have a deep concern for the well-being of Iran. With them I have watched closely your courageous efforts, your steadfastness over the past difficult years, and with them I too have hoped that you might achieve the goals you so earnestly desire. The attainment of an oil settlement along the lines which have been announced should be a significant step in the direction of the realization of your aspirations for your people.

Since taking office, I've made it clear that the United States was prepared to begin a new chapter of engagement with the Islamic Republic of Iran. We offered the Iranian government a clear choice. It could fulfill its international obligations and realize greater security, deeper economic and political integration with the world, and a better future for all Iranians. Or it could continue to flout its responsibilities and face even more pressure and isolation.

What is it between Obama and Iran? That's the question we all ought to have. Because it sure seems to me like Obama's got some sort of affection for that nation.

For the first time since 1979, we are talking to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Obama says talking to him is probably pointless, but it's a hell of a relief from Mitch McConnell.

The problem is that Iran has been identified as a dangerous enemy, and the longer the media forwards that proposition - and the media is guilty, just as it was in the Iraq war - then the easier it becomes for Americans to accept that we might just have to resort to military force to remove any Iranian threat.

The U.S. engages with North Korea, so I don't see why they can't engage with Iran.

Fighting back against Iran is difficult and costly. No American president from Carter to Obama has been willing to take it on.

Hostility toward Iran may not be the silliest of all American foreign policies - that would probably be the continuing trade embargo of Cuba - but it is undoubtedly the most self-defeating.

We believe US threats of an approaching World War III and their use of Iran's nuclear issue as an excuse is another form of American insanity.

If the United States credibly threatens to treat Pakistan like it does Iran, Pakistan’s leaders would find it best to cooperate.

Hillary Clinton and John Kerry have left the U.S. with better relations with Iran and Cuba and worse relations with allies like Israel.

There isn't a doubt that Iran constitutes the single most important single-country strategic challenge to the United States and to the kind of Middle East that we want to see.