Iran: Nuclear Deal Not Renegotiable

FM: Trump's Demands a Desperate Attempt to Undermine Pact

On Friday, President Trump imposed a four month ultimatum on the world to “fix” the P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran to make it more to his liking, warning the US will withdraw from the deal if such fixes are not made within that time.

Iranian FM Javad Zarif

Iran, unsurprisingly, was quick to respond, with Foreign Minister Javad Zarif reiterating the Iranian position that the nuclear deal, already agreed to, is now non-negotiable, and that the terms reached will remain.

President Trump is seeking substantial changes, including making the restrictions on Iran’s civilian nuclear program permanent, and obliging European nations to accept US snap-back provisions on sanctions.

Beyond Iran’s objections, there is no indication anyone but the US among the P5+1 is interested in more negotiations either, with the original deal so hard-fought and carefully negotiated that there is little appetite to try to reopen the deal for broadly different terms just because the US president wants them. Indeed, many talks among the other nations have focused on ways to preserve the deal over a US withdrawal.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.