President Donald Trump on Tuesday withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal which was secured by his predecessor, Barack Obama.
Mr. Trump, who made his decision public while speaking at the White House stated that the deal is isolating the United States among its Western allies, saying the agreement was one-sided.
He said,
“This was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made. It didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will.”
“It is clear to me that we cannot prevent a nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of the current deal.”
President Trump’s announcement which had been long anticipated and was widely telegraphed today is believed to have plunged America’s relations with European allies into deep uncertainty.
Other countries who are signatories to the Iran nuclear agreement have committed to staying in the deal, but Trump’s decision has raised the prospect of a diplomatic and economic clash as the United States reimposes stringent sanctions on Iran.
It also raises the prospect of increasing tensions with Russia and China, which also are parties to the agreement.
The 2015 agreement sealed by Trump’s predecessor, Obama, with the support of China, Russia, Germany, France and the UK, eased sanctions on Tehran.
This was in exchange for commitments to halt what Western powers feared was a nuclear weapons programme.
France, Germany and the UK launched a diplomatic offensive in recent weeks attempting to persuade Trump not to scuttle the deal which aims to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Trump said he opposed the agreement, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JPCOA), during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Since taking office, he has repeatedly threatened to pull the U.S. out of the pact, recently calling it a “horrible deal’’.
