TRUMP DUMPS IRAN NUKE DEAL But Rouhani hints at abiding by agreement

U.S. PRESIDENT BLASTS ACCORD

DONALD Trump will withdraw the United States from the Iran nuclear deal after accusing Tehran of lying over its weapons programme.

The president’s decision unravels the signature foreign policy achievement of Barack Obama, isolating the US from allies who battled to keep the agreement intact.

Trump’s belief that Iran is secretly continuing its nuclear weapons programme is at odds with his intelligence chiefs who said they had seen no evidence.

He used recent claims from the Israeli government as the reasoning behind his conclusion.

Announcing his decision to withdraw from the deal, Trump yesterday said the 2015 agreement was “defective at its core”.

He added: “In theory, the so-called Iran deal was supposed to protect the United States and our allies from the lunacy of an Iranian nuclear bomb.

“It is clear we cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying structure of the current agreement. The deal is defective at its core. America will not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail.

“Therefore, I am announcing the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.”

The decision will see the US reinstate tough economic sanctions it had waived as part of the nuclear accord.

Former US president Obama called the move a “serious mistake,” and warned it will erode America’s global credibility.

Trump warned countries which he deemed to still support Iran will also face US sanctions.

The sanctions could take months to come into effect as the US government develop guidance for companies and banks.

Britain, along with France and Germany, had lobbied Trump but their pleas fell on deaf ears.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had urged the president not to “throw the baby out with the bathwater” on Monday.

Last night, the three countries urged the US not to take steps that would make life harder for other countries that still want to stick to the Iran nuclear deal.

However, Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani last night said he was sending his foreign minister to the countries remaining in the accord but warned there was only a short time to negotiate with them and his country could soon “start enriching uranium more than before”.