Pray for godly wisdom for President Trump and his administration in foreign relations, especially with nations in the Middle East.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. (Jas 3:17)

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“As Iranian leaders weigh how to respond to President Trump’s expected move to decertify the 2015 nuclear deal, hardliners in Tehran are seizing the moment of uncertainty to target Washington with a new dose of harsh rhetoric.

The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps issued an angry warning Monday amid reports that President Trump is also planning to designate the IRGC, considered the protector of Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution, a terrorist organization as part of his administration’s hawkish new posture toward Tehran. . . .

After years of isolation, the nuclear deal opened the way for Iran to do business with the international community by easing sanctions in exchange for an end of Iranian nuclear activities that the West had long believed were geared toward developing nuclear bombs. Europe’s growing business ties with Tehran have hung in the backdrop of Mr. Trump’s threats to pull America out of the deal. Under U.S. law, the White House must certify every 90 days that Iran is in compliance with the terms of the accord. Mr. Trump is expected to give a speech on the matter between now and the next 90-day milestone Sunday. Such a declaration would still require Congress to re-impose sanctions, but analysts agree it would be the first major step toward pulling America out of the deal.

Deal supporters point to repeated findings by the U.N. atomic agency that Iran is complying with the deal.  . . .

But critics of the deal argue Tehran has over the past two years tested more advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges than agreed to under terms of the deal. They also argue the “spirit” of the agreement has been undermined by Iran’s repeated ballistic missile tests and continued support for terror groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas across the Middle East. The head of Iran’s nuclear agency warned the United States on Tuesday against undermining the 2015 nuclear deal, saying international nonproliferation efforts as well as Washington’s international standing would suffer as a result.”(Excerpted from The Washington Times, reporting by Guy Taylor.)

“Iranian nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi told an international conference on enhancing nuclear safety that Washington’s recent ‘delusionary negative postures do not augur well’ for keeping the deal intact.

He said Iran didn’t want to see the deal unravel but that ‘much more is at stake for the entire international community than the national interests of Iran.’

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to deliver a speech on Iran this week in which he is expected to decline to certify Iran’s compliance in the landmark 2015 agreement, referring it to Congress, and perhaps targeting the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard with new sanctions. . . .

The U.S. administration has faced two 90-day certification deadlines to state whether Iran is meeting the conditions needed to continue enjoying sanctions relief under the deal and has both times backed away from a showdown. But Trump more recently has said he does not expect to certify Iran’s compliance with the October deadline looming.” (Excerpted from The Washington Times, reporting by Nicole Winfield.)