–Calls Israel’s recently provided evidence ‘compelling’ to be believed
–Says Iranian regime spent money on military buildup after JCPOA
–Accuses Iran of indulging in proxy wars in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iraq
–Iran, UK, Germany, France condemn decision, KSA welcomes US move
WASHINTON DC: In a decision likely to have wide-ranging repercussions for the broader Middle Eastern region, President Donald Trump on Tuesday terminated the US participation on the Iran nuclear deal, terming it as “unacceptable” and directing his administration to begin the process of re-imposing previous American sanctions against Tehran.
“The Iran Deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into,” Trump said of the accord signed by Washington under his predecessor Barack Obama, as well as by other major world powers in 2015.
“President Donald J. Trump is terminating the United States’ participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran and re-imposing sanctions lifted under the deal,” the White House said as the president signed an order. Trump has argued that the deal “failed to protect America’s national security interests,” he said.
“The JCPOA enriched the Iranian regime and enabled its malign behaviour, while at best delaying its ability to pursue nuclear weapons and allowing it to preserve nuclear research and development,” a White House statement said. The re-imposed sanctions will target critical sectors of Iran’s economy, such as its energy, petrochemical, and financial sectors. Some experts and European countries had counselled against the U.S. abandoning the Iran deal.
“As a result, both Iran and its regional proxies will be put on notice. As importantly, this step will help ensure global funds stop flowing towards illicit terrorist and nuclear activities,” he said. Trump also cited intelligence recently released by Israel, saying it provides “compelling” details about Iran’s past secret efforts to develop nuclear weapons, which it lied about for years.
“The JCPOA failed to deal with the threat of Iran’s missile programme and did not include a strong enough mechanism for inspections and verification. The JCPOA foolishly gave the Iranian regime a windfall of cash and access to the international financial system for trade and investment”, the US president maintained.
“Instead of using the money from the JCPOA to support the Iranian people at home, the regime has instead funded a military buildup and continues to fund its terrorist proxies, such as Hizballah and Hamas,” he further said.
Besides, President Trump will work to assemble a broad coalition of nations to deny Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon and to counter the totality of the regime’s malign activities as listed in the statement. “Nations must work together to halt the Iranian regime’s destabilizing drive for regional hegemony,” he rhetorically said.
The White House also recounted instances of Iran’s interference in regional countries. “In Syria, the Iranian regime supports the Assad regime and is complicit in Assad’s atrocities against the Syrian people. In Yemen, the regime has escalated the conflict and used the Houthis as a proxy to attack other nations. In Iraq, Iran’s IRGC sponsors Shia militant groups
and terrorists.
“In Lebanon, the Iranian regime enables Hizballah to play a highly destabilizing role and to build an arsenal of weapons that threatens the region,” the president said while accusing Iran. At the same time, Trump argued that his Administration’s actions are “directed against the malign behaviour of the Iranian regime, not against the Iranian people, who are the regime’s
longest-suffering victims.”
WHITE HOUSE GIVES LIST OF DEMANDS:
The White House said President Trump is making clear that, in addition to never developing a nuclear weapon, the Iranian regime must not have an Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), cease developing any nuclear-capable missiles, and stop proliferating ballistic missiles to others, cease its support for terrorists, extremists, and regional proxies, such as Hizballah, Hamas, the Taliban, and al-Qa’ida, end its publicly declared quest to destroy Israel.
Further, the White House said that Iran must also stop its threats to freedom of navigation, especially in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, cease escalating the Yemen conflict and destabilising the region by proliferating weapons to the Houthis, end its cyber-attacks against the United States and our allies, including Israel, stop its grievous human rights abuses, shown
most recently in the regime’s crackdown against widespread protests by Iranian citizens and stop its unjust detention of foreigners, including United States citizens.
White House said the United States’ withdrawal from the JCPOA will “pressure the Iranian
regime to alter its course of malign activities and ensure that Iranian bad acts are no longer
rewarded.”
IRANIAN PRESIDENT DENOUNCES DECISION:
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reacted to the decision and said that his regime complied with the
deal, however, the US shied away from honouring the commitments made with Iran in 2015.
WORLD DIVIDED OVER TRUMP’S DECISION:
French President Emmanuel Macron took no time to express his disapproval of Trump’s unilateral decision. Not only France, he said that the UK and Germany also regret the decision. “France, Germany, and the UK regret the U.S. decision to leave the JCPOA. The nuclear non-proliferation regime is at
stake,” he tweeted.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), on the other hand, welcomed President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the US from the international nuclear agreement with Iran and to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran.
“Iran used economic gains from the lifting of sanctions to continue its activities to destabilize the region, particularly by developing ballistic missiles and supporting terrorist groups in the region,” according to a statement
carried on Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television.
In a joint statement issued by UK Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President, the three leaders said, “ Our governments remain committed to ensuring the agreement is upheld, and will work with all the remaining parties to the deal to ensure this remains the case including through ensuring the continuing economic benefits to the Iranian people that are linked to the agreement. We urge the US to ensure that the structures of the JCPOA can remain intact, and to avoid taking action which obstructs its full implementation by all other parties to the deal.”
