On Tuesday, President Donald Trump is expected to announce that he will allow sanctions to continue for Iran, a move that strips away much of Obama’s legacy in the region. Such sanctions enable the U.S to fully back out of the Iran Nuclear Accord initiated by Obama in 2015.
The move, long expected after Trump’s continual denouncements of the accord, removes the United States from a list of seven other nations in the agreement. The United States will reinstate the tough sanctions placed on Iran prior to the deal.
Iran will continue to remain in the agreement as will other European nations, namely Germany, France and Britain, prompting another clash between the US and European nations.
While some fear that such a decision will encourage extremists in Iran and greatly accelerate its nuclear program, Trump did not share such sentiments. “This was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made,” Trump stated. “It didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will.”
European leaders frantically tried to dissuade Trump from pulling out of the accord, but he was unwavering in his decision. Even former President Obama offered a rare public criticism of Trump’s foreign policy, who said the deal was “a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East.”
However, while Trump reneged on one deal, he worked to further another.
While many worried that pulling out of this nuclear deal would harm attempts of reconciliation with North Korea, Trump’s administration remained convinced that such a deal was still on the table.
Mr. Bolton, a Trump administrator, rejected the idea that pulling out would affect a deal with North Korea. “Any nation reserves the right to correct a past mistake,” Bolton said, “The message to North Korea, is that the president wants a real deal.”
Hopefully the plans towards disarmament with North Korea continue unabated.
However, the situation in the Middle East now appears even more dire. Nearly all foreign experts lamented pulling out of the Iran Deal and worry about the forthcoming trials in the region.
Mr. Kerry, former secretary of State, captured such concern perfectly. “No rhetoric is required. The facts speak for themselves. Instead of building on unprecedented nonproliferation verification measures, this decision risks throwing them away and dragging the world back to the brink we faced a few years ago.”
