IRAN
Nuclear weapons in Iran’s control were guaranteed, according to Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, if the United States had not pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal. He said the regime had been working on developing its nuclear program for years and that all the deal did was to delay its completion by a month to a few years. Pompeo in a comment during an interview said: “We accept the facts on the ground as they are. This is a regime that lied to get into that nuclear deal – you can see that now in what’s going on at the IAEA and Turquzabad, where we now know that they lied about the scope of their program.”
Iran stored documents and kept the technology in place but dispersed, according to Pompeo. Without a central research agency they still continued to develop weapons. The trump Administration, he added is determined to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons now and in the future.
CHINA
In an on-the-record briefing, Ambassador Wells responded to questions about concerns the Administration has over China’s One Belt One Road initiative. Wells stated that the project “often doesn’t adhere to international standards – sustainability, labor environment.” Recently, the Ambassador participated in meetings in Pakistan where China’s concessional financing of projects in that country came up. She warned Pakistan that it “…should beware of the terms, to make sure that they’re getting the most for their money, that brings the greatest economic prosperity.” In recent years China has made large, direct investment in the infrastructure of developing countries in return for concessions that include the sale of raw materials and rare earths at prices favorable to the regime in Beijing, military basing rights, and economic and trade benefits. The Trump Administration is pulling off the band aid accord to Pompeo in a change from the small step approach employed by the previous administration.
COLOMBIA
A couple of dozen countries met at the ministerial levels for talks recently in Colombia on terrorism policy. A senior official at the State Department who attended with Secretary Pompeo said there has been substantial movement in the last six months as several countries have designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, including Argentina, Paraguay, and more recently Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras.
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BIRTH TOURISM
In a significant change in American policy the State Department announced that effective January 24th, it is amending its B non-immigrant visa regulations to address what is commonly referred to as birth tourism. The B visitor visa category is for a temporary visit for business or pleasure. The updated regulation, according to the Department, “…will establish that pleasure excludes travel for the primary purpose of obtaining United States citizenship for a child by giving birth to the child in the United States. Under this amended regulation, consular officers overseas would deny any B visa application from an applicant whom the consular officer has reason to believe is traveling for that primary purpose of giving birth in the United States to obtain U.S. citizenship for the child.”
This change is intended to address the national security and law enforcement concerns associated with birth tourism. The final rule also codifies a requirement that B visa applicants who seek medical treatment in the United States must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the consular officer their arrangements for such treatment and establish their ability to pay all costs associated with such treatment.
DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government. Each Saturday, she presents key updates on U.S. foreign policy from the State Department.
Illustration: Pixabay