Trump Announces Decision To 'Withdraw' From Iran Nuclear Deal
(CBS) -- President Trump on Tuesday announced the decision to "withdraw" from the Iran nuclear deal, keeping a longtime campaign promise, claiming there is evidence Iran is not in compliance with the deal and the 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," the president said. "Therefore, I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal."
That means the U.S. will not renew sanctions waiver and will no longer participate in the Iran nuclear deal, CBS News' Ed O'Keefe and Rebecca Kaplan have reported. The sanctions the U.S. waived because of the accord will be reinstated.
According to a congressional aide, O'Keefe reports, there will be 90- and 180-day wind-downs on various aspects of what is known as the JCPOA, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a landmark deal forged in 2015 during the Obama era.
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" host 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.
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, UK 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 reports, citing European diplomatic sources.
The New York Times reported earlier Tuesday that Mr. Trump told Macron that he would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump still expressed hope for the Middle East.
"Great things can happen for the peace and stability that we all want in the Middle East. There has been enough suffering, death, and destruction. Let it end now," he said.
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.
