Trump Withdraws US From Iran Nuclear Deal

Says deal 'only guarantees survival of Iranian regime'

On Tuesday afternoon, President Trump announced that he is withdrawing the United States from the P5+1 nuclear deal. He’s been condemning the deal for years, and is moving to reimpose US sanctions on Iran. This would put the US in violation of the pact.

Trump set a May 12 ultimatum demanding changes to the deal, and threatening to withdraw if he didn’t get them. While the European Union offered him myriad concessions to try to keep him placated, Trump ultimately was unsatisfied.

He went on to complain that the deal will only guarantee the survival of the “Iranian regime.” He said the deal was “a great embarrassment to me as a citizen, and to all American citizens.” He cited Israel’s allegations of Iran’s pursuit of nuclear arms.

Trump claimed the whole world was in agreement on the “threat” posed by Iran, despite materially the entire world remaining committed to the deal. He talked up working with American allies to force a large number of new concessions out of Iran.

While there had been some warnings that the deal could not survive without the US, Iran and all other signatories to the P5+1 deal have said they will remain in the pact. It is only the US that is in violation, and the rest of the world intends to keep the deal going as best they can without America’s support, which even at the best of times was only half-heated.

There is little reason to suggest new negotiations could happen, with Trump conceding if he was Iran he wouldn’t negotiate either. At the same time, he threatened Iran with much bigger problems if they didn’t.

Trump concluded that he had made America “much safer” by withdrawing from the deal. In reality, he’s likely to provoke a major diplomatic backlash for disavowing a treaty signed just a few years ago.

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.