Trump Decertifies Iran Nuclear Deal, Announces New Sanctions Against Iran
Today, President Donald Trump delivered a speech in which he said he will decertify the Iran Nuclear Deal while also issuing new sanctions against the government of Iran.
The president announced some major steps that his administration will take with the aim of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, which included new sanctions.
“The execution of our strategy begins with the long overdue step of imposing tough sanctions on Iran’s Islamic revolutionary guard corps,” the president declared while urging America’s allies to follow suit.
Trump went on to state that since the signing of the Iran nuclear agreement, “the regime’s dangerous aggression has only escalated.” This led to the president saying the US would not be recertifying the deal.
“Based on what I put forward, I am announcing that we cannot and will not make this certification,” he noted. “We will not continue down a path whose predictable conclusion is more violence and terror and the very real threat of Iran’s nuclear breakout.”
Trump revealed that he was going to kick the deal over to Congress:
“That is why I am directing my administration work closely with Congress and our allies to address the deal’s many serious flaws so that the Iranian regime can never threaten the world with nuclear weapons. These include the deal’s sunset clauses that in just a few years will eliminate key restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program. The flaws in the deal also include insufficient enforcement and near total silence on Iran’s missile programs. Congress has already begun the work to address these problems. Key House and Senate leaders are drafting legislation that would amend the Iran nuclear review act to strengthen enforcement and prevent Iran from developing an Internet — this is so totally important. An intercontinental ballistic missile and make all restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activity permanent under US law. So important.”
In comments released prior to the president’s announcement, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said that Trump would decertify the deal but would not pull out of the agreement.
It should be noted that last month, Tillerson said that Iran was in “technical compliance” with the deal and it has been reported that the secretary of state had urged the president to recertify the deal ahead of today’s speech.
Watch the clip above, via CNN.
[image via screengrab]
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