Trump all but ready to abandon Iran nuclear deal: WH sources

Iran nuclear deal
The Iran nuclear deal was signed in 2015 by Iran, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Russia, France, Germany and the European Union.  United States Department of State photo.

The Iran nuclear deal was signed in 2015 by Iran, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Russia, France, Germany and the European Union.  United States Department of State photo.

Trump railed against Iran nuclear deal during election campaign

Two White House sources tell Reuters that US President Donald Trump has all but decided to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, but they say they are unsure exactly how he will abandon the agreement.

The 2015 Iran deal was signed by the parties to curb Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.  It was among former US President Barack Obama’s signature foreign policies, but in the past, Trump has described it as “one of the worst  deals I have ever witnessed”.

Should Trump decide to end US sanctions relief, the agreement would be in serious jeopardy.  Iran could then decide to resume its nuclear arms program or “punish” US allies in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon, diplomats told Reuters.

Trump has until May 12 to make his decision on renewing “waivers” which suspend some US sanctions on Iran.  According to one of the sources, Trump may end up not completely pulling out of the agreement, but the source was unable to describe any details of such a move.

According to Reuters, there is a possibility that Trump may opt to keep the US in the international pact, in part because of “alliance maintenance” with France after French President Emmanuel Macron urged Trump to remain in the agreement when the two met in Washington last week.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a presentation on what he described as documentary evidence that Iran was not complying with the pact.  UN inspectors say Iran has been in compliance with the agreement and Iran flatly denied Netanyahu’s claims.

As well, Iran denies ever seeking nuclear weapons and accuses Israel of inciting suspicions.

As for Trump, the White House official who spoke to Reuters said the president was “most of the way there toward pulling out of the deal but he hasn’t made the decision” and that he “seems poised to do it but until a decision is made by this president it is not final.”

Another White House official said top aides are not aggressively trying to talk Trump out of withdrawal because he seems intent on it.

Trump gave Congress and US European allies until May 12 to “fix” the Iran nuclear deal.  According to Reuters, European officials working toward such a solution, believe the odds are not in their favour.
One of the main issues for Trump with the deal is one of the “sunset” clauses.  The US is hoping to extend some limits on Iran’s nuclear program beyond the expiration dates of the agreement.
Negotiators are said to be frustrated because they do not know where Trump’s “red line” is, and as such, cannot let the Europeans know what it would take to get Trump on side.
Should Trump refuse to renew the waivers, he could give the new US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, some time to negotiate with European officials.  This would call into play the agreement’s dispute resolution mechanism.
Reuters sources familiar with the negotiations say that if Trump leaves the deal, Europeans will question if this is the beginning of a much more hawkish approach by the US towards Iran which some fear may include military confrontation.

 

Facebook Comments

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*