Donald Trump withdraws from nuclear deal with Iran
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox
Get our free Inside Washington email
President Donald Trump has pulled the United States from the Iran nuclear deal and is set to reimpose severe sanctions on Tehran, in a decisive break with European allies that could also bring a new crisis in the Gulf.
Mr Trump said the sanctions, which will violate the international nuclear agreement, would penalise Iran for what he described as “state-sponsored terror” in the Middle East, which works against the United States and its allies. The president said that "any nation that helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons could be strongly sanctioned" as he signed an order that would re-impose sanctions on foreign countries that continue to do business with Iran.
In a speech at the White House, Mr Trump said the Iran deal was “decaying and rotten” and “defective at its core”. He cited the Iranian development of ballistic missiles – an issue not addressed in the deal – as a breach of the spirit of the deal by Iran, which he said has “murdered hundreds of American service members, and kidnapped, imprisoned and tortured American citizens”.
“I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal,” Mr Trump said, undermining what had been the biggest foreign policy success for his predecessor, Barack Obama. Mr Obama called the decision "misguided" and a "serious mistake".
The decision follows weeks of speculation about what Mr Trump would do, as officials from France, the UK and Germany – the three European signatories on the Iranian deal – worked to try to convince Mr Trump to keep the agreement intact ahead of a 12 May deadline.
Mr Trump's decision means Iran's government must now decide whether to follow the US and withdraw or try to salvage what's left of the deal. Berlin, London and Paris have all the urged the US not to take any actions that could prevent them and Iran from continuing to implement the agreement.
Donald Trump's first year: in pictures
Show all 29
However, in Washington, the Trump administration said it would re-impose sanctions on Iran immediately but allow grace periods for businesses to wind down activity.
The US Treasury Department said there would be “certain 90-day and 180-day wind-down periods” but didn't specify which sanctions would fall under which timelines. The department said that at the end of those periods, the sanctions will be in “full effect.”
National Security Adviser John Bolton said nobody should sign contracts for new business with Iran.
It is not clear exactly what will happen to the Iran deal now that the United States is no longer a party, as those other countries and Iran may find a way to keep some semblance of the deal together. Iran's main regional rivals, Israel and Saudi Arabia, both praised Mr Trump's decision.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday that the deal could survive if Mr Trump pulls away, a statement that is buoyed by the fact that the thawed relations between Iran and Europe has allowed European entities to start doing business within Iran.
But while he appears willing to try and keep the agreement in place, Mr Rouhani said in the wake of Mr Trump's address that he has “ordered the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran to be ready to start the enrichment of uranium at industrial levels”, but added that he would “wait a few weeks” to start that enrichment so that Iran can speak to allies and the other countries in the deal.
“All depends on our national interests,” Mr Rouhani said of whether he will restart the enrichment.
There have been concerns from some in the US Congress and beyond that a decision to violate the Iran agreement would impact on the upcoming summit between Mr Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic programmes. Perhaps mindful of this, Mr Trump said during his announcement that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was on his way to the North Korean capital and that he would arrive "very shortly". Mr Trump said that the two countries had already agreed on a date and location for the unprecedented summit, though he stopped short of providing details.
Mr Trump's national Security Adviser John Bolton said the Iran decision would not derail a parallel effort to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear programme, arguing that the abandonment of the Iran pact would strengthen America’s position by telegraphing that the US would rebuff unsatisfactory offers.
“I think the message to North Korea is the president wants a real deal”, Mr Bolton told reporters. “It sends a very clear signal that the United States will not accept inadequate deals”.
“Any nation reserves the right to correct a past mistake”, Mr Bolton added in reference to the Iran deal.
Ernest Moniz, the CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and a key negotiator in the Iran nuclear deal talks, has weighed in on President Donald Trump's decision to pull the US out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Here is his full statement:
“President Trump’s decision today to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal is a major strategic mistake that not only damages the United States’ ability to prevent Iran from acquiring the material for a nuclear weapon, but also impairs our ability to prevent the spread and use of nuclear weapons, to work with allies and partners on issues of global concern and to protect our interests in the Middle East for years, if not decades, to come. The Iran nuclear deal rolled back Iran’s nuclear program and imposed uniquely stringent monitoring and verification measures—the most important elements of which were permanent—to prevent the country from ever developing a bomb. The United States is now in violation of the terms of the deal without offering a credible alternative."
“The Iran deal is and has always been about depriving Iran of the nuclear materials—highly enriched uranium and plutonium—needed to make a weapon. As international inspectors, who have been on the ground every day since the deal was concluded, have confirmed: the Iran agreement has accomplished this. The fact that the advice of this nation’s most important allies was ignored in this decision adds to the consequence of the President's decision."
“Remaining in the agreement was very clearly in the U.S. national interest. It’s hard to predict what will unfold from here, but the President has driven a deep wedge between the United States and our allies in Europe and has withdrawn from the process that would allow a comprehensive investigation of the Iran archives recently revealed by Israel.”
President Donald Trump's decision to pull the United States from the Iran deal leaves a certain degree of certainty as to the future of the Middle East.
Karim Sasjadpour, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment think tank, has outlined three potentially devastating results.
"By withdrawing from the [Iran deal] Trump hastens the possibility of hree disparate but similarly cataclysmic events: An Iranian war, an Iranian bomb, or the implosion of the Iranian regime," Mr Sadjadpour wrote on Twitter.
"Iran looms large over major US national security concerns including Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, cyber, energy security, terrorism, & obviously nuclear proliferation," he continued.
US Congressional leaders are split, but not neatly along party lines, over President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.
Some are welcoming the pullout, believing the 2015 accord was unsound. But others are worried that the U.S. is now in the position of reneging on an international commitment and without a backup plan.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the Iran deal "was flawed from the beginning" and that "we can do better."
But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says it appears the Trump White House has no plan going forward. The New York Democrat opposed the deal negotiated by President Barack Obama's administration and world powers in 2015.
The administration — and even Mr Trump himself — briefed leaders ahead of the announcement.
In a sign of the type of regional tensions Mr Trump's decision will do little to dampen, Syrian air defences have downed two Israeli missiles near Damascus, state media reported, after explosions were heard at a military base south of the capital.
SANA, the state news agency, cited a military source as saying: “Syrian air defences fired at two Israeli missiles and destroyed them in Kisweh”.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said earlier on Tuesday evening that it had identified “irregular activity of Iranian forces in Syria” and had decided to unlock and ready bomb shelters in the north.
Thanks for following along on our live blog today regarding US President Donald Trump's decision to pull the US from the Iran nuclear deal and the many reactions from world leaders. Please read more reports and analysis at independent.co.uk/us.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies