TRUMP EXITS IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL
President has long criticised the Iran deal, negotiated under his predecessor Barack Obama, as the “worst” ever
US President Donald Trump said the US will withdraw from the landmark 2015 accord to curb Iran’s nuclear program and that he would reinstate financial sanctions on the Islamic Republic, casting West Asia into a new period of uncertainty. “The fact is this was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never ever been made,” Trump said at the White House.
President Donald Trump said the US will withdraw from the landmark 2015 accord to curb Iran’s nuclear programme and that he would reinstate financial sanctions on the Islamic Republic, casting the Mideast into a new period of uncertainty.
“The fact is this was a horrible onesided deal that should have never ever been made,” Trump said at the White House. “We cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of the current agreement. The Iran deal is defective at its core.” West Texas Intermediate crude fell as much as 4.4 per cent after CNN reported that Trump was expected to allow sanctions to go forward on Iran but may not completely pull out of the accord. The commodity was down about 3 per cent ahead of the announcement.
The president has long criticised the Iran deal, negotiated under his predecessor Barack Obama, as the “worst” ever. He has complained it doesn’t address threats from the country’s ballistic missile programme or its involvement in regional conflicts, and that provisions of the deal that expire in the next decade would allow Iran to resume some nuclear work. Trump said in a tweet on Monday that he would announce his decision at 2 pm Tuesday in Washington, ahead of a May 12 deadline set by US law to continue waiving US sanctions lifted by the accord.
Oil prices have climbed in recent weeks as uncertainty over the future of the agreement rose. A resumption of US sanctions would threaten Iran’s ability to attract foreign investment, keeping the country’s output flat or lower through 2025, according to a research note published Monday by Barclays.
It is unclear what may unfold after Trump’s announcement. American and European diplomats have sought to negotiate side agreements aimed at addressing his concerns about the deal. Even the immediate reimposition of sanctions would take time to resolve, as there would be no accounting of violations before November, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Russia’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mikhail Ulyanov, said the Iran deal wouldn’t end immediately as a result of Trump’s action and “we will have a certain amount of time for diplomatic efforts,” according to the Interfax news service.
Last-Ditch Efforts
Diplomats engaged in the talks on side deals had signalled that they were close to a breakthrough, but key allies have been sceptical that Trump would remain part of the current pact, which curbs Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for relaxing Western financial sanctions. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel signaled after meeting with Trump last month that he seemed intent on quitting the agreement. Ali Shamkhani, secretary general of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was reported to say Tuesday that “if the US initiates confrontation with Iran, we won’t stay passive.” If the nuclear agreement “gets destroyed due to the US assault, for sure it won’t be to their benefit,” he said, adding that the “biggest loss will be for the Europeans.” EU trade with Iran has nearly tripled since 2015. Following the visits by Merkel and Macron, UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson was in Washington this week to make a last-ditch argument to persuade Trump to remain in the accord, arguing that it is flawed but can be improved by the side agreements.