US WITHDRAWS FROM IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL World leaders react to Trump decision
US President Donald Trump has announced that the United States is effectively withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, defying last-ditch diplomatic efforts by his European allies to convince him otherwise.
“I made clear that if the deal could not be fixed, the United States would no longer be a party to the agreement,” Trump said in a highly-anticipated address on Tuesday.
“The Iran deal is defective at its core. If we do nothing, we will know what exactly will happen.
“Therefore, I am announcing today, that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal,” he said.
Under the deal signed in Vienna with six world powers — the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union — Iran scaled back its uranium enrichment programme and promised not to pursue nuclear weapons.
In exchange, international sanctions were lifted, allowing it to sell its oil and gas worldwide. However, secondary US sanctions remain.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly confirmed that Tehran has been meeting its nuclear commitments fully.
A White House statement issued after Trump’s speech said the US president directed his “administration to immediately begin the process of re-imposing sanctions” related to the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“The re-imposed sanctions will target critical sectors of Iran’s economy, such as its energy, petrochemical, and financial sectors.”
Trump’s decision fulfills a campaign promise to cancel the 2015 pact, which he has repeatedly described as “the worst deal ever”.
Responding to Trump’s announcement, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attacked Washington’s “empty signatures” and said there was a short time to negotiate with the other world powers to keep the nuclear deal in place.
“I have ordered the foreign ministry to negotiate with the European countries, China and Russia in coming weeks. If at the end of this short period we conclude that we can fully benefit from the JCPOA with the cooperation of all countries, the deal would remain,” he added.
Thomas Countryman, former US assistant secretary of state who helped negotiate the deal, said withdrawing from the agreement would further thrust the Middle East into the path of instability.
Countryman said with Trump’s decision, the US becomes the first of the seven parties who is violating the agreement.
“That would be a serious case of foreign policy malpractice, and it would have several effects that would play out very slowly.”
He also said the US is now left with diminished WORLD leaders react to US withdrawal from Iranian nuclear deal with Iran President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran would bypass Washington and negotiate with the other signatories of the deal, calling the US move “unacceptable”.
Following Trump’s speech on Tuesday, there was an immediate reaction by world leaders, including the other parties to the landmark deal.
Here’s a round-up of statements from around the world:
“France, Germany and the UK regret the US decision to leave the JCPOA,” French President Emmanuel Macron, a champion of the deal, wrote on Twitter.
“The nuclear non-proliferation regime is at stake,” he added.
“We will work collectively on a broader framework, covering nuclear activity, the post-2025 period, ballistic activity, and stability in the Middle East, notably Syria, Yemen and Iraq.”
France’s Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said in a radio interview “the deal is not dead”. He said Europe’s foreign leaders will meet next week with representatives from Iran to talk about the future of the JCPOA.
Germany also reiterated it also wants to uphold the deal. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said “the deal makes the world safer”, adding that Germany could find no legitimate reason for pulling out of the deal.
On Twitter, UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said he regretted the US no longer taking part in the nuclear deal.
“UK remains strongly committed to the JCPOA, and will work with E3 partners and the other parties to the deal to maintain it,” he added.
Deeply regret US decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. UK remains strongly committed to the JCPOA, and will work with E3 partners and the other parties to the deal to maintain it. Await more detail on US plan.
The top European Union diplomat, Federica Mogherini, called on the international community to
credibility to negotiate a better deal, while making negotiations with North Korea “more complicated”.
Hours before his speech, the White House said Trump had called French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss his decision.
Following the announcement, Macron took to Twitter to express the “regret” of Washington’s European allies over the decision.
“France, Germany and the UK regret the US decision to leave the JCPOA,” Macron said. “The nuclear nonproliferation preserve the Iran nuclear deal.
“The EU will remain committed to the continued full and effective implementation of the nuclear deal,” Mogherini said from Brussels.
“We fully trust the work, competence and autonomy of the International Atomic Energy Agency that has published 10 reports certifying that Iran has fully complied with its commitments.
“The lifting of nuclear-related sanctions is an essential part of the agreement. The EU has repeatedly stressed that the lifting of nuclear-related sanctions has a positive impact not only on trade and economic relations with Iran, but also mainly, [it has] crucial benefits for the Iranian people.”
China, one of the countries that signed the JCPOA, joined the Europe its response, saying the country is committed to protecting the deal as it stands.
China’s special envoy to the Middle East, Gong Xiaosheng, said in a press conference in Iran the agreement promoted peace. “Having a deal is better than no deal. Dialogue is better than confrontation.” he said according to Xinhua news agency.
Russia, one of the signatories of the deal, said it will try to keep the deal functioning despite Tuesday’s decision by the US.
Yevgeny Serebrennikov, first deputy head of the defense and security committee in the Russian Upper House of Parliament also told RIA news agency Trump’s decision could put the nuclear talks between the US and North Korea at risk.
Speaking at a press conference in West Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu applauded Trump’s decision.
“Israel fully supports President Trump’s bold decision today to reject the disastrous nuclear deal with the terrorist regime in Iran.
“Israel has opposed the nuclear deal from the start because we said that rather than blocking Iran’s path to a bomb, the deal actually paves Iran’s path to an actual arsenal of nuclear bombs and this within a few years time.
regime is at stake.”
In a joint statement earlier on Tuesday, the European Union, Britain, France and Germany said they met Iranian officials in Brussels and reaffirmed their support “to the continued full and effective implementation of the JCPOA by all sides”.
Meanwhile, Russia warned on Tuesday that a “very serious situation” will emerge if Trump pulls out of the pact.
Marwan Bishara, a senior political analyst, called
“The removal of sanctions under the deal has already produced disastrous results. The deal didn’t push war further away, it actually brought it closer.” Barack Obama In a written statement, the former US president, whose administration negotiated and signed the deal, issued a list of points as to why Trump’s decision is “so misguided”. “The reality is clear. The JCPOA is working — that is a view shared by our European allies, independent experts, and the current US Secretary of Defence,” Barack Obama wrote.
“The JCPOA is in America’s interest — it has significantly rolled back Iran’s nuclear programme. And the JCPOA is a model for what diplomacy can accomplish — its inspections and verification regime is precisely what the United States should be working to put in place with North Korea.
“Indeed, at a time when we are all rooting for diplomacy with North Korea to succeed, walking away from the JCPOA risks losing a deal that accomplishes — with Iran — the very outcome that we are pursuing with the North Koreans.”
Saudi Arabia, a regional rival of Iran and longtime US ally, said that it supports Trump’s decision.
“The kingdom supports and welcomes the steps announced by the US president toward withdrawing from the nuclear deal . . . and reinstating economic sanctions against Iran,” the Saudi foreign ministry said.
Riyadh’s allies in the Gulf - the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain - also welcomed Trump’s decision. United Nations The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement that he was “deeply concerned”, urging the remaining parties of the deal to abide by their commitments.
“It is essential that all concerns regarding the implementation of the plan be addressed through the mechanisms established in the JCPOA. Issues not directly related to the JCPOA should be addressed without prejudice to preserving the agreement and its accomplishments,” Guterres said. — Al Jazeera
Trump’s announcement “a major crossroad not only for the Middle East” but also for “international security”.
“I’ve never seen the Middle East closer to the brink of war, a confrontation of sort, than it is today - at least not since the George W. Bush administration went against Iraq and tried to go against Iran.”
Bishara said Trump did not only “alienate his European allies” but his announcement was “a call for an all-out confrontation with Iran” and “a total embrace of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s and of Israel’s logic for the Middle East”.
“In fact, it’s Trump who embraced Netanyahu’s vision of a middle east where a confrontation, a showdown with Iran is necessary for peace and security,” added Bishara.
For his part, Ali Fathollah-Nejad, an Iran expert at Brookings Doha and the German Council on Foreign Relations, told Al Jazeera that there is an incentive in Tehran to keep the deal afloat despite Trump’s decision.
He said, “a great portion of the Iranian elite” who benefited from the post-deal business would want the deal to survive.
On the other hand, some hardline factions do not mind the deal’s collapse, he said.
Since Trump assumed office in January 2017, he had taken several steps to block the deal.
In October, he refused to certify that Iran is living up to the accord. He also targeted several Iranian businesses and individuals with new sanctions.
On January 12, Trump announced he was waiving the US sanctions for the “last time”. He said if his demands to “fix the deal” were not met within 120 days, the US would withdraw from the deal on or before the deadline. — Al Jazeera