In a much-expected move, President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday the US withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
"The Iran deal is defective at its core," Trump said in a televised address from the White House. "I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal."
He said the agreement was "a horrible, one-sided deal" based on a lie.
If he allowed the deal to stand, there would soon be a nuclear arms race, he warned.
A constructive deal could easily have been struck at the time, but it was not, Trump stressed.
“No action taken by the regime has been more dangerous than its pursuit of nuclear weapons and the means of delivering them."
Trump on Tuesday signed a presidential memorandum withdrawing from the 2015 agreement and he is planning to reinstall sanctions on the Iranian regime. He revealed that he will be reinstituting the highest level of sanctions, warning any country not to help the Iranian government.
America "will not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail", he declared.
“We will not allow a regime that chants 'Death to America' to get access to nuclear weapons,” he vowed.
The US president said he made the decision after consulting with US allies.
"The United States does not make empty threats," he stated.
Turning to the Iranian people, Trump predicted that they would someday "want to make a new and lasting deal" and that "when they do, I am ready, willing and able."
He added that a new deal could lead to the "peace and stability we all want in the Middle East."
Trump's decision means Iran's government must now decide whether to follow the US and withdraw or try to salvage what's left of the deal. Iran has offered conflicting statements about what it may do — and the answer may depend on exactly how Trump exits the agreement.
The agreement, struck in 2015 by the US, other world powers and Iran, lifted most US and international sanctions against the country. In return, Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear program making it impossible to produce a bomb, along with rigorous inspections.
Trump spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese leader Xi Jinping about his decision Tuesday. Macron vigorously supports the deal and tried to persuade Trump to stay committed to it during a visit to Washington last month.
