President Trump rolled out his much-anticipated decision to “withdraw” from the Iran nuclear deal, in keeping with a longtime campaign promise. The president claimed Tuesday that there is Israeli intelligence proving Iran is not in compliance with the agreement.
Mr. Trump said he fears the 2015 deal will allow the Iranian regime to amass nuclear weapons.
“In just a short period of time, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror will be on the cusp of acquiring the world’s most dangerous weapons,” Mr. Trump said from the White House Diplomatic Room. “Therefore, I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.”
What that means practically speaking, is the U.S. will not renew the sanctions waiver and will no longer participate in the Iran nuclear deal, CBS News political correspondent Ed O’Keefe and Rebecca Kaplan reported. According to the U.S. Treasury, its Office of Foreign Assets control is taking action immediately to implement Mr. Trump’s decision. Sanctions will have 90-day and 180-day wind-down periods, at the end of which relevant, previous sanctions the U.S. had waived will be reinstated.
U.S. intelligence has verified that the deal has been an effective arms control deal that has kept Iran’s nuclear program frozen for three years, CBS News “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan has noted. Mr. Trump is delivering on another campaign promise, says Brennan, but one which is arguably far more consequential than any other deal he’s torn up.
Mr. Trump did not answer shouted questions from a reporter in the room about how leaving the deal will make the U.S. safer.
The Iran nuclear deal, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was forged in 2015 during the Obama administration under then-Secretary of State John Kerry, as a multi-nation effort to keep Iran’s nuclear program at bay.
“In theory, the so-called “Iran deal” was supposed to protect the United States and our allies from the lunacy of an Iranian nuclear bomb, a weapon that will only endanger the survival of the Iranian regime,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday. “In fact, the deal allowed Iran to continue enriching uranium and, over time, reach the brink of a nuclear breakout.”
President Trump signs a proclamation declaring his intention to withdraw from the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House in Washington, on Tue., May 8, 2018.
The United Kingdom, France and Germany were all unable to persuade the Trump administration to broker a side deal that would satisfy the U.S. enough to keep it a party to the 2015 agreement. Shortly before the president was to announce his decision, the leaders of those countries, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were on a call to discuss their response to Mr. Trump’s announcement, CBS News’ Kylie Atwood reported, citing European diplomatic sources. The response from the international community was swift.
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that France, Germany and the U.K. “regret” Mr. Trump’s’ decision, saying the “nuclear nonproliferation regime is at stake.”
Emmanuel Macron ✔@EmmanuelMacronFrance, Germany, and the UK regret the U.S. decision to leave the JCPOA. The nuclear non-proliferation regime is at stake.
Mr. Trump insisted America will not be held “hostage” by such a deal.
“America will not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail,” the president said. “We will not allow American cities to be threatened with destruction and we will not allow a regime that chants ‘death to America’ to gain access to the most deadly weapons on Earth.”
Mr. Trump spent much of the 2016 campaign and early days of his presidency slamming the 2015 nuclear pact as “a mess” and “badly negotiated.”
That sentiment did well with his supporters.
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Former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State John Kerry had opinions in wake of President Trump’s decision Tuesday. Obama’s office issued a statement:
“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,” Obama said in his statement. “We all know the dangers of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. It could embolden an already dangerous regime; threaten our friends with destruction; pose unacceptable dangers to America’s own security; and trigger an arms race in the world’s most dangerous region. If the constraints on Iran’s nuclear program under the JCPOA are lost, we could be hastening the day when we are faced with the choice between living with that threat, or going to war to prevent it.”
Kerry said Mr. Trump’s decision “weakens” U.S. security.
John Kerry ✔@JohnKerryMy thoughts on President Trump’s Iran statement:
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John Bolton explains how backing out of the Iran nuclear deal works
National security adviser John Bolton briefed reporters Tuesday afternoon on how backing out of the deal would work, at least, to some extent.
CBS News’ Margaret Brennan reports Bolton provided no evidence that Iran was in violation of the deal, despite Mr. Trump’s claims of the existence of Israeli intelligence. Bolton, Brennan reports, had no roadmap for how to deal with Iran other than suggesting there perhaps should be more sanctions beyond the 2015 ones.
“We are out of the deal,” Bolton said.
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Trump says Mike Pompeo is on his way to North Korea
Mr. Trump made news after signing off on his decision by saying Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is now on his way to North Korea, where he will hold meetings ahead of Mr. Trump’s expected meeting with the North Koreans.
Mr. Trump said last week a date and location have been set for such a meeting, although he hasn’t revealed those details.
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Trump signs off on decision to withdraw from Iran deal
Mr. Trump, sitting at a desk, signed off on a document memorializing his decision to withdraw from the 2015 deal.
He showed off his signature to the press and others present.
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Trump says U.S. will “withdraw” from Iran deal
Mr. Trump, after laying out his case for withdrawing from the deal, made the announcement official: The U.S. will “withdraw” from the 2015 agreement, Mr. Trump said.
“In just a short period of time, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror will be on the cusp of acquiring the world’s most dangerous weapons,” the president said. “Therefore, I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.”
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Trump says it is “clear” Iran nuclear bomb cannot be prevented under current deal
The president said he has consulted extensively with U.S. allies.
“The Iran deal is defective at its core. If we do nothing, we know exactly what will happen.”
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Trump cites “definitive” proof Iran violated the deal
Mr. Trump, citing Israeli intelligence he said was published last week, claimed there is “definitive” proof Iran violated the deal. He didn’t detail those claims extensively.
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Trump blasts the 2015 Iran deal
Mr. Trump blasted the 2015 Iran deal forged by the Obama administration and other nation, calling the deal “disastrous” and saying it gave a regime of great terror too much power.
“At the heart of the Iran deal is a giant fiction,” the president said — that a regime wanted a peaceful nuclear program.
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Trump denounces Iranian regime
Mr. Trump began his remarks by blasting the Iranian regime, calling it the leading state sponsor of terror.
“The Iranian regime has funded its long reign of chaos and terror by plundering the wealth of its own people,” Mr. Trump said.
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Trump speaking any moment
Mr. Trump is expected to speak any moment from the Diplomatic Room of the White House. He is running slightly behind.
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The details of what the Trump administration is doing
According to congressional aides, Mr. Trump will announce the U.S. will not renew sanctions waivers and will no longer participate in JCPOA, CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe and Rebecca Kaplan report.
One sources tells CBS News that senior administration officials have begun informing Congressional leaders of their intent to remove the U.S from the JCPOA and reimpose sanctions.
Another source signaled that there would be 90-day and 180-day wind downs on various aspects of the Iran deal.
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Congressional leadership briefed on Iran deal
Ahead of the president’s decision, House leadership including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have been briefed on the president’s announcement.
According to Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong, “Vice President Pence has briefed the speaker on the president’s announcement.” CBS News’ Rebecca Kaplan reports that Pelosi received a similar call from the vice president shortly before 1 p.m.
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What will President Trump decide on the Iran deal?
International allies, including most recently officials from the U.K., have been pressing the president to stay a part of the agreement, vowing to find workable solutions to his issues with the deal.
But “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan says any way you slice it, the Trump administration appears to have decided to deal a severe blow — potentially a fatal blow — to what U.S. intelligence has verified to be an effective arms control deal that has kept Iran’s nuclear program frozen for three years. Mr. Trump is delivering on another campaign promise, says Brennan, but one which is arguably far more consequential than any other deal he’s torn up.
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