Trump announces U.S. withdrawal from ‘defective’ Iran deal

Trump announces U.S. withdrawal from ‘defective’ Iran deal

Context

US pulls out of the Iran nuclear deal finally

What has happened?

The United States has pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday, upending a key foreign policy achievement of his predecessor Barack Obama.

US view

• JCPOA failed to deal with the threat of Iran’s missile program and did not include a strong enough mechanism for inspections and verification
• The deal’s sunset provisions are totally unacceptable

Imposing sanctions again

• The President has directed his administration to immediately begin the process of re-imposing sanctions against Iran that were lifted by the JCPOA
• The re-imposed sanctions will target critical sectors of Iran’s economy, such as its energy, petrochemical, and financial sectors 

But US already was violating the deal?

• According to some views the US has already been in violation of the agreement, which point out the Trump administration’s active role in stopping commercial agreements Iran sought with western companies.
• The Trump administration has been pressing European countries to stay away from commercial deals with Iran already. Boeing, one American entity that was allowed to do business with Iran by the Obama administration has not proceeded with the opportunity.

Possible Consequences

• This could strain US’s relations with key allies France, Germany and the United Kingdom, aggravate tensions with Russia and China, and add to instability in West Asia
• Most probably Iran will restart its nuclear programme now