President Donald Trump has announced
that the U.S. is withdrawing
from the Iran nuclear deal,
keeping a campaign promise,
but ignoring the advice of America’s allies.
The president said
he is removing
the U.S
from the Iran nuclear deal
known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
and will reimpose
economic sanctions
on Iran at "the highest level of economic sanction"
and target
"any nation
that helps Iran
in its quest for nuclear weapons"
with sanctions, too.
Trump announced
his decision
at the White House after a last-ditch effort
by European allies
to urge Trump to stay in the agreement
and build upon it.
Trump instead argued
the deal was so "horrible"
that it had to be discarded
to move forward.
"It is clear to me
that we cannot prevent
an Iranian nuclear bomb
under the decaying and rotten structure
of the current agreement,"
Trump said.
"The Iran deal is defective
at its core.
If we do nothing,
we know exactly
what will happen."
The nuclear deal was negotiated and agreed to
by Iran and the P5+1 –
the U.S., U.K., France, China, Russia, and Germany –
in 2015,
granting Iran sanctions relief
and returning frozen assets in exchange for restrictions
on its nuclear program and international inspections.
There will now be a 90-day and a 180-day window
before certain kinds of U.S. sanctions are snapped back
into place.
But despite that wind-down period,
the administration said clearly
it is exiting the deal.
"We're out of the deal,"
National Security Adviser John Bolton repeated
three times
in a briefing with reporters.
Bolton insisted
that discussions are already underway
towards potentially renegotiating a new deal
with Iran,
but Iran –
and even European allies --
have long maintained
that the JCPOA is not up
for renegotiation.
On August 6,
the first wave of U.S. sanctions will be reimposed,
on Iran's currency, precious metals, aluminum and steel, and others.
After an additional 90 days,
the administration will start
imposing sanctions
on Iranian oil and other energy sectors,
the Central Bank of Iran,
and shipping companies.
The slow implementation[이행, 실행] is designed
to give time to U.S. allies
to withdraw their businesses
from Iran
or face American sanctions –
putting the U.S. and Europe
at odds. [다투는, 불화하는]
In response,
French President Emmanuel Macron,
German Chancellor Angela Merkel,
and U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May
noted their "regret and concern"
at Trump's decision,
calling on Iran
to maintain its commitments
under the deal –
and on the U.S.
to essentially stay out of the way:
"We urge
the U.S. to ensure
that the structures of the JCPOA can remain intact [온전한]
and to avoid taking action
which obstructs
its full implementation
by all other parties to the deal,"
they said
in a joint statement.
While the Trump administration has suggested
they will work with Europe
moving forward,
the three leaders make clear
their "continuing commitment" to the deal,
saying plainly,
"The world is a safer place
as a result."
That means
no European sanctions on Iran –
and instead,
"ensuring the continuing economic benefits
to the Iranian people
that are linked to the agreement,"
the sanctions relief and access
to international markets.
That could mean
that the U.S. will have to sanction
European companies and Europe will have to take action
to protect its businesses –
a possibility,
according to a senior State Department official,
who told ABC News,
"Those are discussions
we’re going to have
with the Europeans."
But there hasn't been any preparation
for that so far.
"We did not talk about Plan B
in our discussions"
with Europe, a senior State Department official told
reporters.
Much of what happens next
depends
in large part
on how Iran responds.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani responded
to Trump in a televised speech,
saying that he had ordered
the country's nuclear energy agency
to be ready to start enrichment
at an industrial scale,
but that they would first wait a few weeks
to see how other countries respond.
That's essentially a threat to withdraw
from the deal as well,
depending on how Europe, Russia, and China react.
"If we see
that our expectations from this deal
could be met in action
by the cooperation of other countries,
we will stay in the deal,
but if we see
our interests are not guaranteed,
we will decide accordingly
at that time,"
he said.
Other American allies voiced
their support for the decision,
particularly Iranian enemies Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
who gave a speech
last week
urging Trump to exit the deal,
praised "courageous leadership"
and "bold decision today
to reject the disastrous nuclear deal
with the terrorist regime
in Tehran."
ABC News' Alexander Mallin and Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.
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