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Iran deal: Trump reportedly to withdraw US from nuclear agreement – live Iran deal: Donald Trump withdraws US from nuclear agreement – live
(35 minutes later)
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.
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
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.
France, Germany, and the UK regret the U.S. decision to leave the JCPOA. The nuclear non-proliferation regime is at stake.
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.
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.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.We’ll be reporting his statement live.
Click here to follow along on the White House livestream.Click here to follow along on the White House livestream.
Trump is set to announce whether the US will violate or abide by the Iran nuclear agreement in ten minutes at the White House.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.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.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 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.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.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.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.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.I asked the Intel Community to provide an assessment to Congress: pic.twitter.com/o70e6Z2PL8Pulling 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.I asked the Intel Community to provide an assessment to Congress: pic.twitter.com/o70e6Z2PL8
Tensions are high in Iran, where the collapse of the Iran deal could have dire effects.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 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.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.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.
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.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/wmqlPiDL8I1. 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
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.”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.”
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?
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.
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
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.”
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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: