US resumes sanctions on Iran
Five other countries in Iraq nuclear deal pledge to uphold accord; European Union prepares measures against sanctions
WASHINGTON— US President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a landmark deal curbing Iran’s nuclear program and reimposed crippling sanctions on Tuesday.
“The United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal,” Trump said from the White House, defying pleas from other world powers.
But other signatories to the deal—Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China—said they would uphold the deal despite Trump’s decision to pull out.
Continuing commitment
“Together, we emphasize our continuing commitment to the [pact]…This agreement remains important for our shared security,” the leaders of Britain, France and Germany said in a joint statement.
“We urge the US to ensure that the structures of the [agreement] can remain intact, and to avoid taking action which obstructs its full implementation,” the statement read.
But Trump called for a “new and lasting deal” that had to include more restrictions on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missiles programs and an end to Iran’s support for terrorist groups.
Psychological warfare
“We will not allow American cities to be threatened with destruction and we will not allow a regime that chants ‘Death to America’ to gain access to the most deadly weapons on Earth.”
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani accused Trump of “psychological warfare” and warned that Iran could resume uranium enrichment “without THE REAL VICTIMS Iranian women eat ice cream in downtown Tehran, a day before the United States withdrew from a nuclear deal that will likely cause more economic hardship to the Iranian people.— limit,” but would first confer with the other parties.
Rouhani said Tehran aimed to continue to comply with the deal’s terms and swiftly reach out to other signatories to keep it in place.
The decision marked a stark diplomatic defeat for Europe, whose leaders, repeatedly and in person, begged the mercurial US leader to think again.
US officials said European firms doing business in Iran now had a six-month deadline to wind up its investments or risk sanctions from the United States, which could also target European firms if they continued to trade with Iran.
But the European Union said plans were already being drawn up in Brussels to introduce measures blocking US sanctions.
Preserving the deal
The European Union’s chief diplomat Federica Mogherini, who helped oversee the accord that had been under negotiation since 2006, insisted it was “delivering on its goal.”
“The European Union is determined to preserve it,” Mogherini said.
“Together with the rest of the international community, we will preserve this nuclear deal,” she added.
While most US allies decried Trump’s decision to unravel the principal foreign policy achievement of his predecessor, Barack Obama, the decision was hailed by Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Recipe for disaster
The deal was “a recipe for disaster, a disaster for our region, a disaster for the peace of the world,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Saudi Arabia, a Sunni Muslim that has been in at odds with Shiite Iran for decades, also hailed Trump’s move.
“Iran used economic gains from the lifting of sanctions to continue its activities to destabilize the region, particularly by developing ballistic missiles and supporting terrorist groups in the region,” said a Saudi foreign ministry statement.—