PM committed to nuclear deal after Trump’s withdrawal
‘Regret and concern’ over US decision
THERESA MAY last night announced she remained committed to the Iran nuclear deal after Donald Trump said he was pulling the United States out of the accord.
The US president said he would impose the “highest level” of economic sanctions on Iran as he claimed the state was on the brink of acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iran said it would enrich uranium “more than before... in the next weeks” if negotiations failed over the deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed Mr Trump, describing the agreement as a “recipe for disaster”.
Britain, France and Germany had made strenuous attempts to persuade the US president to preserve the deal.
But Mr Trump said the agreement was “disastrous” and a “great embarrassment” to him. Speaking in the White House, Mr Trump said: “The Iran deal is defective at its core. If we do nothing, we know exactly what will happen.
“In just a short period of time, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror will be on the cusp of acquiring the world’s most dangerous weapon.
“Therefore, I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.”
Mr Trump said if Iran “continues its nuclear aspirations it will have bigger problems than it has ever had before”.
He added: “I want to deliver a message to the long-suffering people of Iran: The people of America stand with you.”
Mr Trump said it had been nearly 40 years since the regime “seized power and took a proud nation hostage”.
“The future of Iran belongs to its people,” he added.
He said Tehran would want to negotiate a new deal.
“When they do, I am ready, willing and able,” he said. “Great things can happen for Iran.”
In a joint statement, Mrs May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron said the decision was a matter of “regret and concern” and said they remained committed to the deal.
The three leaders said they would work to find a “positive” way forward.
They added: “We encourage Iran to show restraint in response to the decision by the US; Iran must continue to meet its own obligations under the deal, co-operating fully and in a timely manner with IAEA inspection requirements.
“The IAEA must be able to continue to carry out its long-term verification and monitoring programme without restriction or hindrance. In turn, Iran should continue to receive the sanctions relief it is entitled to whilst it remains in compliance with the terms of the deal.
“There must be no doubt: Iran’s nuclear programme must always remain peaceful and civilian. While taking the JCPOA as a base, we also agree that other major issues of concern need to be addressed. A long-term framework for Iran’s nuclear programme after some of the provisions of the JCPOA expire, after 2025, will have to be defined.”
On Monday, Boris Johnson made a diplomatic dash to Washington in a last-ditch push to win over the president. The Foreign Secretary said Mr Trump would be in line for the Nobel Peace Prize if he could fix the agreement. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed by the US, China, Russia, Germany, France and Britain with Iran in 2015.
Under its terms, Iran is committed to a peaceful nuclear energy programme.
The future of Iran belongs to its people. Great things can happen. US president Donald Trump.
DONALD TRUMP’S decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal is bound to cause international consternation, not least because the United States’ most influential and powerful allies were united in their opposition to such a move.
The intervention of Britain’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson summed up the concerns of not only the Government but the leaders of both France and Germany, when he pointed out that however flawed the deal may be, it forms the best basis for minimising the threat of Iran developing a nuclear arsenal.
The Government’s approach on this issue has been both practical and pragmatic, recognising that Iran must be engaged with if the delicate balance of power in the Middle East is to be preserved.
This attitude has also been commendably realistic in acknowledging that if the deal were to be abandoned, it potentially leaves a dangerous vacuum, with no effective strategy for containing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, that risks undermining diplomacy and strengthening the hand of hardliners in Tehran.
On that basis, Britain has surely been correct in its assessment that the deal brokered by former US President Barack Obama in 2015 was, whatever its drawbacks, the most promising way forward for developing an ongoing dialogue with Iran that hopefully leads the way towards a more peaceful future.
Mr Trump can point to his less cautious approach towards foreign policy for the apparent success of engaging North Korea in talks aimed at minimising the risk of nuclear conflict.
He deserves credit for this, but the issue of Iran is much more complex than that of North Korea, an isolated and impoverished state with few allies. Iran, on the other hand, is at the centre of a tangled web of alliances and power struggles in the Middle East, and unpicking it requires a more nuanced strategy.