Great Satan US media hype over Iran mirrors false claims on Iraq

The coverage of Iran’s nuclear issue in the US media is reminiscent of the hype over false claims regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq that set the grounds for a US invasion of the country in 2003, an American lawmaker says.

“The media coverage on Iran is mirroring the coverage in the lead-up to the Iraq war, grand claims about a smoking gun that doesn’t exist,” said US Congressman Dennis Kucinich in an article published in the Huffington Post.

Kucinich argued that the US media outlets, particularly the New York Times, the National Public Radio, the PBS and the Washington Post “incorrectly” interpreted the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran and thus reinforced a wrong perception about Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program.

In November 2011, the UN nuclear agency released a report accusing Iran of conducting activities that could be related to the development of nuclear weapons before 2003, saying that these activities “may still be ongoing.”

Kucinich warned that, “The potential consequences of treading on that same path with Iran are grave… Military action against Iran would be disastrous for the region and for US moral standing.”

The US congressman called for a “serious diplomatic” approach “based on mutual trust and respect” as “the only way” to resolve Tehran’s nuclear issue.

According to the California-based investigative organization Project Censored, more than one million Iraqis have been killed in the US invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq since 2003.

Washington claimed the military action was carried out to find and destroy weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in Iraq while former dictator Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime was still in power. However, no WMDs were ever discovered in Iraq.