Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Iran regime change seen as goal of Trump sanctions, demands
President Trump says he hopes "maximum pressure" sanctions will coerce Iran into accepting a better and stronger nuclear deal, but with Tehran unlikely to accept concessions being demanded by the White House, many are beginning to suggest that the administration's actual goal is regime change. Published May 9, 2018
Iran’s supreme leader: Trump ‘can’t do a damn thing’
Iran's supreme leader lashed out Wednesday in response to the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, delivering a fiery remarks in Tehran in which he said: "Mr. Trump, you can't do a damn thing." Published May 9, 2018
Iran threatens uranium enrichment, Israel braces for worst after Trump pulls out of nuclear deal
Iran said Tuesday that it was prepared to quickly restart uranium enrichment -- the process needed to make nuclear bombs -- if President Trump's withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal leads to a total collapse of the Obama-era accord. Published May 8, 2018
Mike Pompeo visits North Korea for second time
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo embarked on his second surprise trip to North Korea in as many months, holding discussions ahead of a planned summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to discuss the North's nuclear program. Published May 8, 2018
Tehran won’t ‘remain passive’ if U.S. ‘starts a confrontation,’ Iranian official warns
A top Iranian official said Tuesday that Tehran will won't make any new concessions beyond what it agreed to under the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal and warned that the Islamic republic also won't "remain passive" if Washington "starts a confrontation." Published May 8, 2018
Daniel Hoffman, ex-CIA officer: Brennan’s Trump attacks risk national security
A behind-the-scenes U.S. intelligence community fight over the merits of publicly scorning President Trump has burst into the open. Published May 7, 2018
Iranian-Americans plan rally for regime change
Iranian-Americans who want "regime change" in Tehran are holding a major conference in the District of Columbia this weekend to support the protests that have arisen inside Iran against the Islamic Republic's hard-line government in recent months. Published May 3, 2018
Gina Haspel CIA nomination: Waterboarding, Black site work eyed to defeat bid
Gina Haspel, President Trump's nominee to lead the CIA, faces a contentious hearing next week before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence amid questions of her central role in some of the agency's most controversial policies of the post-9/11 era. Published May 3, 2018
North Korea releases U.S. detainees, bows to another Trump demand
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has released three U.S. citizens detained for years in his horrific prison camps, surrendering to another of President Trump's demands in advance of a planned historic summit between the two leaders whose countries have long been adversaries. Published May 2, 2018
Mike Pompeo vows to help State Department get ‘swagger back’
Newly confirmed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he's "humbled" to have the chance to serve as America's new top diplomat and determined to help embattled State Department officers get their "swagger back." Published May 1, 2018
Taiwan takes a hit as China influence rises on other side of world
China is expanding its influence in Latin America -- most recently with a push to pump loans and investment into the Dominican Republic -- but the impact might be felt hardest back in East Asia, where the self-ruled island of Taiwan says its facing blowback from Beijing's moves. Published May 1, 2018
Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel obtained ‘half a ton’ of documents on Iran’s nuclear weapons program
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu theatrically revealed a library of files and CDs Monday that he claimed was secretly obtained from Tehran and showed Iran lied about its atomic bomb ambitions prior to the 2015 nuclear deal, adding a new layer of complexity to President Trump's looming decision over the future of the deal while heightening fears of an imminent military clash between Tehran and Tel Aviv. Published April 30, 2018
Israel ready to bomb Iran if necessary: Report
Israeli defense officials have told their American and Russian counterparts that if Iranian-backed forces attack Israel from inside Syria, Jerusalem will not hold back from retaliating with direct strikes against Tehran or other targets in Iran. Published April 30, 2018
Donald Trump gains hope for Kim Jong-un summit
The Trump administration is growing in confidence that an upcoming summit with Kim Jong-un will achieve the aggressive denuclearization timeline Washington wants, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying the North Korean leader is "serious" about abandoning his nuclear program. Published April 29, 2018
Pompeo says he believes Kim Jong-un ‘serious’ about giving up nukes
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday he was "encouraged" by the "historic" summit between the North and South Korea, and that he believes North leader Kim Jong-un is "serious" about reaching a deal to abandon his nuclear weapons program. Published April 27, 2018
Kim Jong-un finally appears serious about abandoning the nuclear weapons program
North and South Korea delivered a joint declaration affirming the "mutual goal" of pursuing "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula Friday, signaling the firmest commitment to date by the North's Kim Jong-un that he may be serious about abandoning the nuclear weapons program his nation has long used to threaten America and its allies. Published April 27, 2018
North Korean defectors watch Kim Jong-un’s South Korea visit with dread
On the eve of a historic summit of the leaders of North and South Korea, the prospect of a diplomatic thaw and improved relations vexes many of North Korean defectors who have made new lives here, who vow they will never stop fighting for the removal of the government in Pyongyang even if Mr. Kim agrees to give up his nuclear weapons. Published April 26, 2018
Kim Jong-un must end nuclear program by 2020, Japan says
President Trump should demand that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meet a hard deadline of 2020 to permanently surrender his nuclear programs and that no sanctions relief for Pyongyang should be granted until the deadline is met, a top policy aide to Japanese President Shinzo Abe said Wednesday. Published April 25, 2018
U.N. joins Trump admin in slamming Nicaragua leftists
The United Nations sharply criticized Nicaragua's leftist government over its heavy-handed crackdown on opposition protesters Tuesday -- a day after the Trump administration began pulling U.S. diplomats from country amid unrest that has left dozens dead. Published April 24, 2018
Kim Jong-un, Moon Jae-in meeting failure could scuttle Trump summit
The prospect for a historic summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un is rising, but it won't happen if things don't go smoothly Friday when the North Korean leader first meets with South Korean President Moon Jae-in for their own high-stakes one-on-one meeting. Published April 23, 2018