Trump Most Likely To Walk Out Of Iran Deal
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump will announce whether the U.S will remain a part of the Iran nuclear deal or if it intends to bow out.
As per the nuclear agreement, the U.S. is supposed to review its terms and conditions once every 120 days and decide whether it wants to stay or withdraw from the deal (also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action).
The Trump administration, as well as Israel, have stated numerous times that the deal was “flawed” as the provisions in the agreement allow Iran to gradually resume advanced atomic work.
According to a PBS report, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was fired by Trump in March, had reiterated that the only way to prevent the U.S. from walking out of the deal is by imposing tough new penalties on Iran.
President Trump walking out of the Iran deal would result in reimposing oil-related sanctions on Iran. These sanctions were lifted two years ago under the Obama administration. When the sanctions were lifted, Iran’s oil exports soared to 2.6 million barrels a day. If the U.S. decides to reimpose sanctions, that number would plummet.
According to CNN, the newly appointed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hinted last month that President Trump might walk out of the agreement.
“The President has been clear — absent a substantial fix, absent overcoming the shortcomings, the flaws of the deal — he is unlikely to stay in that deal past this May,” said Pompeo during a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
‘Worst Deal In History,’ Says Trump
Trump had in the past criticized the nuclear agreement with Tehran, calling it the “worst deal in history.”
He also took a dig at former Secretary of State John Kerry for engaging in “shadow diplomacy” to try to preserve the Iran nuclear deal.
France vows to seek stronger Iran deal, with or without US https://t.co/h4Yoa238v0 pic.twitter.com/8J6C6YxQn7
— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) May 8, 2018
At a dinner held in Milan on Monday, Kerry voiced concerns about the future of the Iran nuclear deal. He said that the U.S. withdrawing from the agreement would bring the world “right back to where we were” and it “was not a safe place.”
