Trump to reveal Iran nuke deal’s fate
WASHINGTON (AP) — United States President Donald Trump is preparing to tell the world whether he plans to follow through on his threat to pull out of the landmark nuclear accord with Iran and almost surely ensure its collapse.
There are no signs that European allies enlisted to “fix” the deal had persuaded him to preserve it.
In a burst of last-minute diplomacy, punctuated by a visit by the United Kingdom’s top diplomat, the deal’s European members gave in to many of Trump’s demands, according to officials, diplomats and others briefed on the negotiations. Yet they still left convinced he is likely to re-impose sanctions and walk away from the deal he has lambasted since his days as a presidential candidate.
As they braced for an expected withdrawal yesterday, US officials were dusting off plans for how to sell a pullout to the public and explain its complex ramifications to the global financial world, said the officials and others, who were not authorized to speak ahead of an announcement and requested anonymity.
Building up anticipation for the big reveal, Trump announced on Twitter he would disclose his decision at 2 p.m., with an announcement set for the Diplomatic Room of the White House.
With uncharacteristic discipline, he kept the decision confined to a small group within the White House National Security Council, leaving even many of his aides guessing what he had decided.
An immense web of sanctions, written agreements and staggered deadlines make up the 2015 nuclear deal struck by the US, Iran and world powers. Trump thus effectively has several pathways to pull the US out of the deal by reneging on its commitments.
Under the most likely scenario, Trump will allow sanctions on Iran’s central bank — intended to target its oil exports — to kick back in, rather than waiving them once again on Saturday, the next deadline for renewal, according to the individuals briefed on Trump’s deliberations.
The Trump administration would then give those who are doing business with Iran a sixmonth grace period to wind down business and avoid running afoul of those sanctions.
Depending on how Trump sells it — either as an irreversible US pullout or one final chance to save it — the deal could ostensibly be strengthened during those six months in a last-ditch effort to persuade Trump to change his mind.
The first 15 months of Trump’s presidency have been filled with many such “last chances” for the Iran deal in which he’s punted the decision for another few months, and then another.