Summary
Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon announced the US would violate the Iran nuclear agreement, nearly three years after the the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was struck.
In exiting the JCPOA, Trump broke from US allies in Europe and has potentially triggered a new crisis in the Gulf.
We’re closing down the live blog, but more news and analysis is coming this evening. Here’s where things are at now:
- Trump justified the exit by claiming that Iran is building a nuclear program, without providing evidence that this is true. “At the heart of the deal was a giant fiction,” Trump said. He used inflammatory language throughout the speech, flinging accusations at Iran though the country has acted in compliance with the nuclear agreement.
- He also announced the US will re-impose sanctions against Iran, which will be rolled out in keeping with 90 day and 180 day wind-down periods.
- Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, said “this is a psychological war” and that he believed the agreement could survive if other negotiating partners defied Trump. “I’m happy that the pesky being has left the Barjam,” Rouhani said, referring to the Persian acronym for the deal.
- European allies Germany, France and the UK said they had “regret and concern” about Trump’s decision and planned to continue abiding by the agreement.
- Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he “fully supports” Trump’s decision. “Israel thanks President Trump for his courageous leadership,” he said.
- Former US president Barack Obama, whose administration negotiated the Iran deal, warned Trump’s decision could have dire implications. Obama said: “Without the JCPOA, the United States could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East.”
Syria downs two Israeli missiles near Damascus
Syrian air defences downed two Israeli missiles near Damascus, state media reported, after explosions were heard at a military base south of the capital.
State news agency, SANA, cited a military source as saying: “Syrian air defences fired at two Israeli missiles and destroyed them in Kisweh”.
The Israeli Defense Forces said earlier on Tuesday evening that it had identified “irregular activity of Iranian forces in Syria” and had decided to unlock and ready bomb shelters in the north, where it shares a frontier with Syria.
“Additionally, defence systems have been deployed and IDF troops are on high alert for an attack,” it said in a statement. “The IDF is prepared for various scenarios and warns that any aggression against Israel will be met with a severe response.”
Israel has struck Iranian forces operating in Syria several times this year while Tehran has vowed to retaliate. Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement has put the region on edge.
Reuters news agency cited a commander loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as saying the Israeli strike on Tuesday evening caused no casualties. Israel did not immediately comment on the reported strike.
Here’s video from Trump’s announcement that the US would torpedo the Iran nuclear deal. “America will not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail,” he said.
Trump’s decision to violate the Iran agreement could potentially trigger a new crisis in the Gulf. And while European US allies have said they will stay in the agreement, but it is not clear how that will be possible in the face of the sanctions that Trump has reintroduced, targeting companies around the world for doing business with Iran.
Karim Sadjadpour, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, warned: “By withdrawing from the JCPOA, Trump hastens the possibility of three disparate but similarly cataclysmic events: an Iranian war, an Iranian bomb, or the implosion of the Iranian regime.”
“Iran looms large over major US national security concerns including Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, cyber, energy security, terrorism, & obviously nuclear proliferation,” Sadjadpour said in a tweet. “The opportunities for direct conflict are numerous.”
Former US president Barack Obama, whose adminstration successfully negotiated the Iran deal, said Trump’s announcement was “misguided.”
“At a time when we are all rooting for diplomacy with North Korea to succeed, walking away from the JCPOA risks losing a deal that accomplishes – with Iran – the very outcome that we are pursuing with the North Koreans,” Obama said.
“That is why today’s announcement is so misguided. Walking away from the JCPOA turns our back on America’s closest allies, and an agreement that our country’s leading diplomats, scientists, and intelligence professionals negotiated. In a democracy, there will always be changes in policies and priorities from one Administration to the next. But the consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to risks eroding America’s credibility, and puts us at odds with the world’s major powers.”
He also provided a five point rebuttal to Trump adminstration criticisms of the Iran agreement, including Trump’s claim Iran was building a nuclear program in violation of the agreement. “The JCPOA does not rely on trust – it is rooted in the most far-reaching inspections and verification regime ever negotiated in an arms control deal,” Obama said.
“Because of these facts, I believe that the decision to put the JCPOA at risk without any Iranian violation of the deal is a serious mistake,” Obama said. “Without the JCPOA, the United States could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East.”
Trump revives worries of war in Iran
Ordinary Iranians were on tenterhooks, monitoring the developments closely, particularly any immediate impact on the country’s national currency, which hit an all-time low last month, prompting panic-buying of hard-to-find dollars amid political uncertainty.
Trump’s decision to reimpose sanctions is likely to exacerbate the state of the economy at the time when public discontent is rife. In January, protests over economic grievances that began by the end of last year spread in an spontaneous manner to as many as 80 cities, taking on a political dimension. The unrest resulted in the death of at least 25 protesters and jailing of more than 3000 people - many of whom remain in prison.
Sadeq Zibakalam, a prominent political commentator and professor of politics at Tehran University, struck a pessimistic tone about the consequences of Trump’s decision in Iran.
“Many people are worried about war,” he told the Guardian on phone from Tehran. “Whenever the country faces a crisis in its foreign policy or economy, the situation gets better for hardliners, they’d be able to exert their force more easily.”
He added: “At the same time, hardliners will gain politically from this situation, because they’ll attack reformists and moderates like [President] Rouhani that this is evidence of what they had been saying for years, that the US cannot be trusted, and that US is always prepared to knife you in the back.”
Zibakalam, who is close to the reformists, said he did not think it would take long for Europeans and other nations to follow in the footsteps of the US, because they won’t endanger their economic ties with Washington, which would outweigh the benefits of doing business with Iran.
“In the short term, the radical faction in Iran will be strengthened, this is good for the hardliners, this will boost their position in Iran’s political system,” he said.
Foad Izadi, a Tehran-based conservative political analyst, said Trump’s aim was to confront ran with greater force. “This shows that the idea that you can negotiate with the US and reach an agreement won’t bear any fruits, not only he wants to reimpose sanctions that had been suspended, he wants to impose new sanctions.”
Izadi said Iran can withstand the pressure. “For 40 years, we have been living under sanctions. The collapse of the nuclear deal will mean that we have to find ways to circumvent sanctions, something we have done in the past. The institutions that have been doing that now need to be reequipped.”
“When relations between Iran and the US goes down from bad to worse, the risk of confrontation and war, particularly in the region, goes up,” Izadi added.
Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), said Trump’s “reckless decision” puts the US on path to war with Iran.
“Donald Trump has committed what will go down as one of the greatest acts of self-sabotage in America’s modern history. He has put the United States on a path towards war with Iran and may trigger a wider regional war and nuclear arms race,” he said.
Updated
UK prime minister Theresa May, German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron released a joint statement on the US exit from the Iran deal:
They said they had “regret and concern” about Trump’s decision and they planned to continue abiding by the agreement.
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. After engaging with the US Administration in a thorough manner over the past months, we call on the US to do everything possible to preserve the gains for nuclear non-proliferation brought about by the JCPoA, by allowing for a continued enforcement of its main elements.
We encourage Iran to show restraint in response to the decision by the US; Iran must continue to meet its own obligations under the deal, cooperating fully and in a timely manner with IAEA inspection requirements. The IAEA must be able to continue to carry out its long-term verification and monitoring programme without restriction or hindrance. In turn, Iran should continue to receive the sanctions relief it is entitled to whilst it remains in compliance with the terms of the deal.
Rouhani: "this is a psychological war"
Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, speaking shortly after Donald Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the landmark nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions at its highest level, said he believed the agreement could still survive if other negotiating partners defied Trump.
But the Iranian president warned that he has instructed the country’s atomic energy agency to prepare to restart enrichment of uranium at an industrial level in a few weeks time should the deal collapses completely.
“This is a psychological war, we won’t allow Trump to win... I’m happy that the pesky being has left the Barjam,” he said referring to Persian acronym for JCPOA or the nuclear deal.
“Tonight we witnessed a new historic experience... for 40 years we’ve said and repeated that Iran always abides by its commitments, and the US never complies, our 40-year history shows us Americans have been aggressive towards great people of Iran and our region .. from the [1953] coup against the legitimate government of [Mohammad] Mosaddegh Mosadeq government and their meddling in the affairs of the last regime, support for Saddam [Hussein during Iran-Iraq war] and downing or our passenger plane by a US vessel and their actions in Afghanistan, in Yemen,” he said.
“What Americans announced today was a clear demonstration of what they have been doing for months. Since the nuclear deal, when did they comply? They only left a signature and made some statements, but did nothing that would benefit the people of Iran.”
Rouhani said the International Atomic Energy Agency (the IAEA) has verified that Tehran has abide by its obligations under the deal. “This is not an agreement between Iran and the US... for US to announce it’s pulling out, it’s a multilateral agreement, endorsed by the UN security council resolution 2231, Americans officially announcement today showed that their disregard for international commitments.. We saw that in their disregard for Paris agreement..
“Our people saw that the only regime that supports Trump is the illegitimate Zionist regime, the ame regime that killed our nuclear scientists”
“From now on, this is an agreement between Iran and five countries... from now on the P5+1 has lost its 1... we have to wait and see how other react. If we come to the conclusion that with cooperation with the five countries we can keep what we wanted despite Israeli and American efforts, Barjam can cursive,” he said referring to Persian acronym for JCPOA or the nuclear deal.
“We had already come to the conclusion that Trump will not abide by international commitments and won’t respect Barjam.”
The Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent Oliver Holmes sent over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response to Trump’s announcement.
Netanyahu, who has been a vocal critic of the deal and called for Trump to “fix it or nix it”, said on Tuesday evening:
“Israel fully supports President Trump’s bold decision today to reject the disastrous nuclear deal with the terrorist regime in Tehran.”
He said Israel opposed the deal as it “paves Iran’s path to an entire arsenal of nuclear bombs.”
The “removal of sanctions under the deal has already produced disastrous results,” he said.
“Israel thanks President Trump for his courageous leadership,” he added.
US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin has confirmed the sanctions in a statement.
He said the sanctions will be reimposed in keeping with 90 day and 180 day “wind-down” periods. Mnuchin said:
President Trump has been consistent and clear that this Administration is resolved to addressing the totality of Iran’s destabilizing activities. We will continue to work with our allies to build an agreement that is truly in the best interest of our long-term national security. The United States will cut off the IRGC’s access to capital to fund Iranian malign activity, including its status as the world’s largest state sponsor of terror, its use of ballistic missiles against our allies, its support for the brutal Assad regime in Syria, its human rights violations against its own people, and its abuses of the international financial system.
The specifics of how the sanctions will work are outlined here.
GOP defends US exit from Iran accord
Republicans were quick to defend Trump’s decision, signaling the party’s ongoing reluctance to challenge the president even as some had expressed reservations about pulling out of the accord.
Kevin McCarthy, the House majority leader, said Trump was saying was staying true to what he promised as a candidate.
“This is something the president campaigned on,” McCarthy told Fox News.
“I think President Trump understands foreign policy … If our main goal here is not to have Iran have a nuclear weapon, i would trust this president to actually get it done.”
McCarthy said he had been briefed on the administration’s plans to exit the agreement, but as of now there had been no immediate demands from Congress to take action.
“I think it’s only appropriate that the world together becomes involved and gets a better agreement and makes sure Iran does not have a nuclear weapon,” he added.
The Republican Jewish Coalition, a group that aggressively lobbied against the Iran deal and is backed by the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, welcomed Trump’s announcement.
“Today’s decision renewed hope for a truly long-term nuclear-free Iran,” the group said in a statement. “Iran continues to be an existential threat to Israel, and continues to menace Israel directly and through its proxies (such as Hezbollah).”
“We appreciate President Trump’s bold foreign policy and look forward to his leadership in dealing with the Iranian threat.”
Adelson is set to meet tomorrow with Trump, according to Washington Post White House reporter Ashley Parker.
Sheldon Adelson to meet with Trump in D.C. tomorrow. Described as a “friendly,” long-planned meeting, not related to today’s Iran news.
— Ashley Parker (@AshleyRParker) May 8, 2018
The White House has released its justification for violating the Iran nuclear deal and re-imposing sanctions lifted under the deal.
“The re-imposed sanctions will target critical sectors of Iran’s economy, such as its energy, petrochemical, and financial sectors,” according to the White House brief. “Those doing business in Iran will be provided a period of time to allow them to wind down operations in or business involving Iran.
Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee, condemned Trump’s decision to withdraw from the accord as “a grave mistake”.
“With this decision President Trump is risking US national security, recklessly upending foundational partnerships with key US allies in Europe and gambling with Israel’s security,” Menendez said in a statement.
“Today’s withdrawal from the JCPOA makes it more likely Iran will restart its nuclear weapons program in the future.”
Menendez also called on Trump to immediately dispatch his national security team to Capitol Hill to explain his administration’s strategy toward Iran before Congress.
Chris Murphy, a Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee, dubbed Trump’s announcement as “terrible news”.
“Pulling out of the Iran deal is like a soccer player deliberately kicking the ball into their own team’s goal,” Murphy said. “There is nothing but downside for the U.S., especially since Trump has zero plan for what comes next.”
Murphy added that Trump’s move would not only escalate nuclear crisis with Iran but also complicate negotiations with North Korea, stating: “It will make it even harder to convince Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear weapons because we just showed that we can’t be trusted to live up to our end of a bargain.”
EU president Donald Tusk was also quick to release a statement promising a “united European approach” to Trump’s decision.
Policies of @realDonaldTrump on #IranDeal and trade will meet a united European approach. EU leaders will tackle both issues at the summit in Sofia next week.
— Donald Tusk (@eucopresident) May 8, 2018
Israel is reporting “irregular activity of Iranian forces in Syria” and has deployed air defenses in the northern part of the country according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which released a statement:
Following the identification of irregular activity of Iranian forces in Syria, the IDF has decided to change the civilian protection instructions in the Golan Heights and instructs local authorities to unlock and ready shelters in the area. The Israeli public should remain attentive to IDF instructions that will be given if necessary.
Additionally, defense systems have been deployed and IDF troops are on high alert for an attack.
The IDF is prepared for various scenarios and warns that any aggression against Israel will be met with a severe response.
The US State department has also issued a warning to US government employs not to travel to the occupied Golan Heights, where Israel and Syria share a border.
#GolanHeights Security Alert: Due to the recent tensions in the region, U.S. gov't employees are required to obtain advance approval if they wish to travel to the Golan Heights until further notice. Consider carefully travel to the Golan Heights until the situation stabilizes. pic.twitter.com/GRrT3s1hdW
— Travel - State Dept (@TravelGov) May 8, 2018
Macron: 'nuclear non-proliferation regime is at stake'
French president Emmanuel Macron said the US’s European allies “regret” the US decision to exit the Iran nuclear agreement.
We will work collectively on a broader framework, covering nuclear activity, the post-2025 period, ballistic activity, and stability in the Middle-East, notably Syria, Yemen, and Iraq.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 8, 2018
France, Germany, and the UK regret the U.S. decision to leave the JCPOA. The nuclear non-proliferation regime is at stake.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 8, 2018
Secretary of State headed to North Korea
Trump has also abruptly announced that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be in North Korea in “probably one hour.”
Trump is using inflammatory rhetoric to describe Iran’s actions since the nuclear agreement was reached, including alleging that the country is building its nuclear program.
“Iran’s bloody ambitions have grown only more brazen,” Trump said.
But Iran has complied with the nuclear agreement since it was reached in July 2015, ending 12 years of deadlock over Tehran’s nuclear program.
“Powerful sanctions will go into full effect,” Trump said. “If the regime continues its nuclear aspirations, it will have bigger problems than it has ever had before”
Trump said he had a message for Iranian citizens. “The people of America stand with you,” he said.
Trump announces exit from Iran nuclear accord
Donald Trump said the US will exit the Iran nuclear agreement in violation of the landmark deal.
“After these consultations it is clear to me that we cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying, rotten structure of the current agreement,” Trump said.
Trump described the move as a “withdrawal,” which is technically incorrect because the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is not a treaty. The US can only abide by or violate the terms of the Iran accord.
Donald Trump has begun his remarks, describing the Iran agreement as “a great embarrassment to me as a citizen.”
“A constructive deal could have easily been struck at the time, but it wasn’t,” he said.
Trump is claiming that Iran is building a nuclear program, without providing evidence that this is true. “At the heart of the deal was a giant fiction,” Trump said.
Donald Trump is due at any moment in the White House Diplomatic Room to deliver remarks on the Iran nuclear agreement.
We’ll be reporting his statement live.
Trump is set to announce whether the US will violate or abide by the Iran nuclear agreement in ten minutes at the White House.
In the days leading up to the announcement, the Observer revealed aides to Donald Trump hired an Israeli private intelligence agency to orchestrate a “dirty ops” campaign against key individuals from the Obama administration who helped negotiate the Iran nuclear deal.
People in the Trump camp contacted private investigators in May last year to “get dirt” on Ben Rhodes, who had been one of Barack Obama’s top national security advisers, and Colin Kahl, deputy assistant to Obama, as part of an elaborate attempt to discredit the deal.
The Observer article did not name the firm or say how much work was undertaken. However, following publication, Kahl said on Twitter there was “considerable evidence” that a person working for Black Cube had approached his wife last May.
The Israeli private intelligence firm Black Cube has denied it was hired by Trump’s aides to dig up damaging information on former officials.
A prominent Iranian-American supporter of the Iran nuclear deal also said he was warned by US intelligence during the presidential transition that his communications would be targeted by the Trump camp in a bid to discredit him.
It’s rumored that Trump will not only discuss the Iran nuclear agreement at 2pm, but also have news on US relations with North Korea.
Congressman Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, has warned the US Director of National Intelligence that exiting the nuclear agreement sends the wrong message heading into negotiations with North Korea.
Pulling out of Iran Deal with no Plan B makes conflict with Iran more likely and means that America can’t be counted on to keep its word. It‘s also exactly the wrong move as we enter negotiations with North Korea.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) May 8, 2018
I asked the Intel Community to provide an assessment to Congress: pic.twitter.com/o70e6Z2PL8
Iranians "exhausted" by anticipated US exit from agreement
Tensions are high in Iran, where the collapse of the Iran deal could have dire effects.
The Guardian’s Iranian correspondent, Saeed Kamali Dehghan, wrote about these implications earlier this week:
The chances of a military conflict with Iran are not high for the moment, so long as Tehran has Russia’s backing. But the collapse of the deal would, even so, have terrible consequences. It would destroy the moderates and reformists in Iran for the foreseeable future. This is particularly important since the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is 78, and there has been speculation over his health. The time may soon come when a successor takes his place – the biggest political change in decades. Rouhani has already been under intense pressure from his opponents. The failure of the deal will only embolden hardliners, who are responsible for outrageous human rights abuses, such as the ongoing detention of dual nationals like Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
For Iranians, psychological impact of US pulling out of the nuclear deal is much bigger than its economic effect. They are exhausted at home by hardliners killing any hope for tangible reform, and squeezed abroad by a US bent on punishing them for choosing the right decision.
— Saeed Kamali Dehghan (@SaeedKD) May 8, 2018
These concerns are shared by other Iran observers, including Karim Sadjadpour, a Georgetown University professor and board member at the Center for Human Rights in Iran.
1. Thread: By withdrawing from the JCPOA Trump hastens the possibility of three disparate but similarly cataclysmic events: An Iranian war, an Iranian bomb, or the implosion of the Iranian regime https://t.co/wmqlPiDL8I
— Karim Sadjadpour (@ksadjadpour) May 8, 2018
The Financial Times Najmeh Bozorgmehr wrote: “In my two decades of reporting on Iran for the Financial Times, I cannot recall such high a level of anxiety and disappointment among the business community, politicians, artists and ordinary people; all are concerned that reform in any field, from economic and social issues to domestic and foreign policy, might never happen. Public perception is even gloomier than the reality.”
Updated
Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), responded to reports that the US is planning to violate the Iran accord in all-caps on Tuesday.
“THIS IS SO STUPID!” she said.
THIS IS SO STUPID! I CAN'T BELIEVE THE REST WORLD HAS TO PUT UP WITH THIS STUFF RIGHT NOW, LIKE WE DON'T HAVE OTHER PROBLEMS ON OUR MIND AT THE MOMENT?
— Beatrice Fihn (@BeaFihn) May 8, 2018
Updated
Officials from the UK, France, Germany and the EU’s foreign policy service stressed their support for the Iran deal when they met Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, for talks in Brussels on Tuesday, hours before Trump’s statement.
Europe would implement the Iran deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as long as Iran complies with its obligations, said a German foreign ministry source.
“We Europeans continue to rely on the JCPoA and its full implementation out of our own security policy interests,” said the source. “The transparency and control arrangements of the JCPoA and the restrictions of the Iranian nuclear program have brought an increase in security,” the source said, adding that it would be important for all sides to keep in touch “to prevent an uncontrolled escalation”.
Kelly Magsamen, who held senior national security positions in the Obama and Bush administrations, said she was “horrified” by the White House’s attitude towards Iran sanctions.
Magsamen, who is now the vice president for National Security and International Policy at the progressive group the Center for American Progress, said:
As someone who spent years of her life putting in place sanctions on Iran under Bush and Obama, I am horrified by the delusional view that we can easily regain the leverage that took years of painstaking "sanctions diplomacy" with our allies, Russia, China, Japan and India.
— Kelly Magsamen (@kellymagsamen) May 8, 2018
Ben Rhodes, a foreign policy advisor to Obama, added on to her comments.
It took five years of diplomacy to build the sanctions regime and two years of diplomacy to reach a Deal. Trump is blowing that up with no understanding of what's actually in the Deal, no plan for what comes next, and no support from our closest European allies, Russia or China. https://t.co/59c3uQtKI5
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) May 8, 2018
Jason Rezaian, the Iranian-American journalist jailed in Iran for one and a half years, warned that the US exit from the JCPOA could have serious consequences for Americans jailed in Iran.
Rezaian, an opinion writer for the Washington Post, said his release was “tangentially” related to the nuclear deal negotiations.
“The knowledge that without those negotiations I might never have been released from prison in Iran and I might still be there right now brings it home for me very sharply,” he said.
If the deal is pulled apart, Rezaian said it would close the main route for diplomatic conversations between the US and Iran.
“If we don’t have those avenues for negotiations the Americans that are stuck in prison right now might be stuck there for a very long time.”
Updated
How a "hard" exit would impact US, EU and Iran
If the New York Times reporting is correct and Trump reinstates all the suspended sanctions and then slap on some additional penalties, it will be removing any ambiguity and nuance from the US position.
It will be on the extreme end of the spectrum of US options – a deliberate and radical abrogation of the deal, which will have an immediate impact on the decisions of companies around the world, forcing them to choose between doing business in Iran or in the US. Any corporation dependent on raising project finance on New York money markets is likely to flee Iran.
It also forces European allies to decide between continuing the current policy of humouring and appeasing Trump while trying to cajole him, or to take stand against his policies, spending a lot of money trying protect European countries from US sanctions, and retaliating against Washington with trade restrictions.
It will be harder for the EU to try to keep the JCPOA deal going without the US.
In Iran, such an aggressive move would embolden hardliners who long predicted the US would betray the deal, and are pressing for a decisive response, such as reviving uranium enrichment, restricting access to inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, or even withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Updated
Early reactions are pouring in after the New York Times reported the US is planning to withdrawal from the Iran deal, reinstate all sanctions an introduce additional penalties.
While Trump was expected to pull out of the deal, he could have taken a softer approach, as the US’s European allies were encouraging him to do in the days leading up to the decision.
The French president’s office has denied the Times report, which was sourced to a call between Macron and Trump.
Security experts, however, say if there is a reinstatement of sanctions, it could devastate European efforts to mitigate the impact of the US withdrawal.
Kelsey Davenport, director for nonproliferation policy at Arms Control Now, called the move “dangerous and irresponsible.”
By violating & withdrawing from be #IranDeal, Trump is manufacturing a nuclear crisis that the international community cannot afford. This is a dangerous & irresponsible move https://t.co/tFWwSRKwvH
— Kelsey Davenport (@KelseyDav) May 8, 2018
Michael Horowitz, geopolitical and security analyst at consultancy group Le Beck International, said the Times reporting suggested a “hard” exit.
By re-implementing all sanctions Trump may further torpedo any effort by Europe to mitigate the impact of the withdrawal #Iran
— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) May 8, 2018
With Trump poised to pull the US out of the landmark Iranian nuclear agreement, the Guardian has a video explainer on the details of the JCPOA.
France denies New York Times report on withdrawal
Trump told French president Emmanuel Macron this morning that the US will withdraw from the agreement, a person briefed on a call between the two leaders told the New York Times.
The US will reinstate all sanctions it had waived as part of the Iran nuclear agreement and impose new economic penalties, according to the Times.
The Guardian has not independently confirmed the details of the report.
But an official in Paris denied the report, saying the US president did not inform Emmanuel Macron of his final decision in their phone conversation on Tuesday.
Macron’s office stood by its earlier announcement that the US and French president on Tuesday “discussed matters relating to peace and stability in the Middle East”.
The Elysée communiqué on Tuesday had made no specific mention of Iran.
Updated
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, said on Tuesday ahead of Trump’s decision: “If Trump today makes the mistake and kills what was an achievement both for Iran and for them, he will never be able to reach even such an agreement, this is a reality,”
Zarif continued: “From their point of view, Iran entered the talks from a very bad position… they tried to take the hope away from our people, they had asked them not to participate in the elections, they were told that their votes won’t be counted, that elections are decided beforehand, [but] 73% of these people went to the ballot box in 2013 [When Rouhani was elected] and they rejected their wishes... this is what took them to negotiating table. Today is the same, we have the same power, if Mr Trump makes this mistake and kills this international achievement, it will be even worse and he will be forced to accept Iranian people’s rights.”
Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council, said Iran won’t stand idly by if Trump scuttles the agreement.
“Trump and the US government are pursuing three parallel policies in regards to Barjam,” he said, referring to Persian acronyms for the nuclear deal. “First, they want to make it redundant, second, to have excessive demands and third, to kill the agreement.”
Shamkhani said Europeans will see “a bigger loss” if they succumb to Trump and attempt to extract more concessions to appease the US president.
Iran president Hassan Rouhani has a televised speech scheduled for after Trump’s announcement.
Donald Trump is set to announce whether the US will remain in the Iran nuclear deal at the White House at 2pm ET this afternoon.
Trump has repeatedly railed against the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which he deemed “the worst deal ever.”
European leaders have been warning the US president about how a withdrawal could harm diplomatic efforts with Iran, but Trump on Tuesday morning told French president Emmanuel Macron that the US plans to withdraw, according to a report in the New York Times.
The Guardian will be providing news and reaction the announcement, as well as analysis from Guardian journalists including world affairs editor Julian Borger, who reported this weekend on an effort by private Israeli intelligence firms to discredit national security officials instrumental in reaching the landmark agreement.
If you need more details on the basics of the Iran nuclear deal, the Guardian’s Iran correspondent Saeed Kamali Dehghan has the details here:
And here’s diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour’s preview of today’s announcement:
