Displaying items by tag: Donald Trump

Donald Trump became the first sitting US president to enter North Korea in an ‘impromptu’ meeting after he left the G20 summit. Later he said that he and Kim would restart nuclear negotiations and he invited Kim to the US ‘when the time is right’. He added, ‘Great progress has been made, great friendships have been made and this has been, in particular, a great personal friendship.’ But the ‘friendship’ faltered four days later when North Korea accused the US of being ‘hell-bent on hostile acts’ and ‘obsessed with sanctions’. When Pyongyang's delegation visited the United Nations, North Korea also accused Washington of attempting to ‘undermine the peaceful atmosphere’ on the Korean peninsula. This indicates a return to the angry exchanges which have marred relations in recent times. We need to pray for the teams representing the US and North Korean leaders who will be meeting over the coming weeks to resume the talks which collapsed four months ago.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he is prepared to talk to Iran but that there was always a chance of U.S. military action against Tehran.

"So Iran is a place that was extremely hostile when I first came into office," Trump who is on a state visit to Britain, told ITV television on June 5. "They were a terrorist nation number one in the world at that time and probably maybe are today."

Asked if he thought military action might be needed, he said: "There's always a chance. Do I want to? No. I'd rather not. But there's always a chance."

He said, when asked, that he was prepared to talk to Iranian President Rohani: "Yeah of course. I would much rather talk."

Trump's comments come amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States and its allies in the Persian Gulf.

Washington a year ago withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear agreement between world powers and Iran that curbed the country's nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

Trump argued that the terms on the accord were not tough enough to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and did not address the country's missile program or its support for militants in the region.

Since then, Washington has re-imposed sanctions, stepped up its rhetoric, and beefed up its military presence in the Middle East, citing " imminent threats" from Iran.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on June 5 that Tehran would not be "deceived" by Trump’s offer of negotiations and would not give up its missile program.

"This political trick will not deceive Iranian officials and the Iranian nation," Khamenei said in a speech broadcast on Iranian television.

Pray: for an end to the escalating tensions.

Pray: that Iran does not develop nuclear capability and adheres to its previous agreement.
Pray: that peace prevails and for a negotiated resolution to the crisis to be achieved.

More at: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-says-prepared-to-talk-to-iran-but-there-s-always-a-chance-of-military-action/29982687.htm

Donald Trump’s ‘Peace to Prosperity’ summit in Bahrain will mark the first phase of the roll-out of US plans for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But a Palestinian Authority spokesman has said that they will not be sending a representative. Some reports indicate that private Palestinian representatives will attend. Bahrain and the United States are hosting the economic leadership ‘workshop’ to share ideas, discuss strategies, and galvanise support for potential economic investments and initiatives that could be made possible by the upcoming US peace agreement. Although the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are sending delegations to participate, the spokesman said that any Palestinian who takes part will be nothing but a collaborator for the Americans and Israel.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has appointed a new chief commander of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), just days after the United States designated the paramilitary force as a foreign terrorist organization.

Iranian state media reported on April 21 that Khamenei appointed General Hossein Salami as the new head of the IRGC, replacing Mohammad Ali Jafari, who had been in charge for more than 11 years.

Salami, 59, had been serving as a deputy commander in the IRGC. State media gave no reason for Khamenei’s decision to replace the IRGC commander.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on April 8 designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization in an unprecedented move that drew Iranian condemnation.

Tehran responded by designating the U.S. military's Central Command as a terrorist organization.

The estimated 100,000-strong IRGC is a branch of the military that also plays a major role in Iran’s economy.

It is in charge of Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs and runs its own intelligence operations.

The IRGC has been involved in enforcing Islamic codes and crushing dissent at home, experts say, while taking part in covert operations, arms smuggling, and other efforts aimed at expanding Iran's influence abroad. It answers directly to Khamenei.

The United States has already blacklisted dozens of entities and people for affiliations with the IRGC, but not the organization as a whole.

More:https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-s-supreme-leader-appoints-new-chief-of-revolutionary-guards/29894970.html?ltflags=mailer

Pray that the devious and manipulative actions of the IRGC will be thwarted
Pray for the people of Iran, who yearn for freedom of speech and true democracy

The Situation in the North

In the weeks following the Hanoi Summit, the issue of North Korean denuclearization has been in the news a lot.  As evidence mounts that the North is rebuilding a major missile launching site that it had been dismantling, Trump has been warning against just that. The commander of U.S. forces in South Korea states that North Korea's activities are "insconsistent" with denuclearization.  While the U.S. also believes that North Korea wants to continue denuclearization talks, the North has threatened to discontinue them. In the meantime, the U.S. has been reaching out to China to help with the situation.  To be honest, I don't thing anyone really knows what will happen; however, the website, 38 North, has a number of very thoughtful articles on the whole denuclearization process.  I recommend taking a look.  There are some hopeful developments in Trump cancelling additional sanctions and the UN lowering sanction barriers for humnitarian work, specifically by the Mennonite Central Committee.  Pray for things to open up for other humanitarian organizations as well.

A few brief items.  Here's a story on how Russian technicians keep the North Korean leaders' bodies looking fresh.  North Koreans are managing to get outside media through new smartphone aps and as workers overseas.  Pray that they learn about the things that are really important and don't spend all their time on dramas...

Remembering Our Brothers in Prison 

We continue to pray for six South Koreans held in the North as well as Daily NK journalist, Choi Song Min (alias). Here's information on the pastors and others who have been detained and released.  Please remember them in your prayers.

Buckingham Palace has announced that US president Donald Trump will make a three-day state visit to the UK from 3 to 5 June. Mrs May said that the visit was an opportunity to strengthen our already close relationships in trade, investment, security and defence, and discuss how we can build on these ties in the years ahead. But shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said that on the very day Trump threatens to veto a UN resolution against the use of rape as a weapon of war, Mrs May is planning to honour him with a state visit. His last visit saw tens of thousands of protesters fill central London's streets to tell him what they thought of his visit. Instead of a red carpet, there was a sea of people, in two large marches led by Women's March London and the Stop Trump Coalition.

Emmanuel Macron is launching a bid to block EU/US trade talks because of Donald Trump’s refusal to sign up to the Paris climate agreement. Trump enraged Brussels when he described the EU as ‘brutal trading partners’ in a tweet offering support to Britain after the Brexit summit, which also stated, ‘Things are about to change’. Brussels wants to keep new trade deals simple, but is unsure of unpredictable Trump. The US ambassador to the EU warned that Washington would fight ‘unfair barriers’ against American companies. An official said that France is opposed to the initiation of any trade negotiations with countries outside the Paris climate agreement. This stance is at odds with Germany’s position, and could lead to more friction between Paris and Berlin.

The US president called Brussels ‘a brutal trading partner’ and criticised the EU's tough treatment of Britain after it gave the UK a further extension at the special Brexit summit. He finished his critique on a philosophical note, ‘Sometimes in life you have to let people breathe before it all comes back to bite you!’ Brexit talks remain locked, and Brussels has put more pressure on the UK to shift its position. Before the deadlock, former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab told the BBC that allowing a delay weakens the UK’s hand in the talks. Meanwhile many economists believe that as the EU has suffered monetary stagnation and enormous waves of migration, Brussels does not want to lose the UK, its second largest economy and financial centre.

Donald Trump is prepared to prolong the current government shutdown because the ‘humanitarian and national security crisis on the southern border’ necessitates funding a wall. This plan is popular with his fanbase, but most Americans oppose it by a 10-to-20 point margin. Trump has Republican support, but Democrats feel they have public support; so the standoff about the shutdown continues. Also, before signing an anti-human trafficking measure on 9 January, Trump said, ‘Israel put up a wall to protect them, and they don’t have a problem any more’. He seems to equate Hezbollah terrorists, Hamas, IS, and the Palestinian ‘second intifada’ attacks with a few thousand migrant families at the Mexican border. See

In a New Year speech, Kim Jong Un has said that he is prepared to meet Donald Trump at any time, while warning he would pursue an alternative course if Washington kept up sanctions on Pyongyang. He wanted an outcome that would be ‘welcomed by the international community’, but warned the US not to ‘misjudge our patience by unilaterally demanding certain things and pushing ahead with sanctions and pressure’. Kim also said the US should continue its halt to joint military exercises with South Korea and not deploy strategic military assets there. He also called for stronger inter-Korean cooperation, stating that he is ready to resume operations at a jointly-run factory park in the North Korean border town of Kaesong and to restart South Korean tours to the North's Diamond Mountain resort. Neither is possible unless sanctions are removed.