Donald Trump has pre-announced that he will be making his decision known on Tuesday concerning the fate of the Iran nuclear deal. In recent weeks, American allies have been reaching out to Trump, urging him to stay with the agreement. However, Trump has railed against the agreement for years. He has frequently repeated false statements about the United States paying billions to Iran, and has pointed to the agreement as “proof” that President Obama and then Secretary of State John Kerry were poor negotiators.
Trump was still making personal attacks concerning the agreement on Tuesday morning.
These attacks and other statements would seem to make Trump’s actual announcement a foregone conclusion.
President Trump is expected to announce Tuesday that he will not continue a waiver of sanctions against Iran, according to current and former U.S. and foreign officials, a major step toward ending the nuclear agreement he has called an “insane” deal that “never, ever should have been made.”
The agreement actually includes no formal language allowing those involved to withdraw. Instead, it requires that the US “certify” whether or not Iran is following the rules of the agreement, based on information available. Every indication is that Iran is in compliance. However, Trump is expected to refuse to provide the certification to congress, effectively ending the agreement. Iran has promised that, in response, it will reactivate it’s nuclear program.
Expect additional coverage of this topic when Trump speaks on Tuesday afternoon. The announcement is scheduled for 2 PM ET.
Though those who have attacked the plan have gone after it for being temporary and for not punishing Iran for activities unrelated to its nuclear program, it appears that the plan has been effective to date in slowing Iran’s progress toward nuclear weapons.
The scrutiny carried out by officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency is a key component of the agreement, and it is unprecedented — not just for Iran, but for any country, anywhere in the world.
As the Trump administration considers withdrawing from the pact, the U.N. watchdog agency is preparing for the possibility that its window into Iran’s nuclear affairs will abruptly slam shut.
Which will leave the world where it was before the agreement was put in place—blind to activity inside Iran.