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Trump strikes blow against Iran N-deal in major US policy shift

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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump struck a blow against the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement on Friday in defiance of other world powers, choosing not to certify that Tehran is complying with the deal and warning he might ultimately terminate it.


Trump announced the major shift in US policy in a speech that detailed a more confrontational approach to Iran over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its support for extremist groups in the Middle East.


Trump said in an address at the White House that his goal is to ensure Iran’s never obtains a nuclear weapon. “We will not continue down a path whose predictable conclusion is more violence more terror and the very real threat of Iran’s nuclear breakout,” Trump said.


While Trump did not pull the United States out of the agreement, aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, he gave the US Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under the pact.


That would increase tension with Iran as well as put Washington at odds with other signatories of the accord such as Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union.


Trump warned that if “we are not able to reach a solution working with Congress and our allies, then the agreement will be terminated.”


The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the deal is formally titled, was crafted over 21 months of hair-pulling negotiations.


Signed by Iran, Germany, and UN Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, the JCPOA curbed Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.


Trump could have scuppered the deal himself, by declining to waive the sanctions when they came up for review in September.


Instead, Trump’s decertification move sets the clock ticking on a 60-day period during which Congress can choose to re-impose the sanctions.


Tehran has warned that such an action would mean that Washington had broken its end of the bargain, and thus likely signal the end of their own compliance.


US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on said the administration is not urging Congress to impose new sanctions.


“Obviously, if they do that, that does then put the JCPOA agreement in question,” Tillerson said.


Congress could also “do nothing,” and allow the deal to stand as is, he added.


Republicans, who are in the majority in both chambers of Congress, have for years denounced the pact, which was brokered during Barack Obama’s administration, warning that the Iranians could not be trusted.


When the deal was struck, Congress passed the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA) that gave Congress a say in managing the accord -- including a requirement for the US president to certify Iran’s compliance with the accord every 90 days, and an option to slap sanctions back on Iran with a simple majority vote.


The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the deal is formally titled, was crafted over 21 months of hair-pulling negotiations.


Signed by Iran, Germany, and UN Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, the JCPOA curbed Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.


Trump could have scuppered the deal himself, by declining to waive the sanctions when they came up for review in September. — Reuters/AFP


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