US President Donald Trump announced Friday he will decertify the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and warned he might ultimately terminate it, in defiance of other world powers which warned against such move.
“I am announcing today that we cannot and will not make this certification,” Trump said during a speech at the White House.
“We will not continue down a path whose predictable conclusion is more violence, more terror, and the very real threat of Iran’s nuclear breakthrough.”
“In the event we are not able to reach a solution working with Congress and our allies, the agreement will be terminated,” he said. “It is under continuous review and our participation can be canceled by me as president at any time.”
Trump is required by law to certify every 90 days whether or not Iran is complying with the nuclear deal. If he argues that Iran is not in compliance, that could cause an American withdrawal from the international pact.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has recently reported that Iran is complying with the agreement.
While Trump did not pull Washington out of the nuclear deal, he gave the US Congress 60 days to decide whether to re-impose economic sanctions against Tehran that were lifted under the pact.
Re-imposing sanctions would put the US at odds with other signatories of the accord such as the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany, as well as the European Union.
Trump also announced sanctions on Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), which he accused of destabilizing the Middle East and threatening American interests in the region.
“I am authorizing the Treasury Department to further sanction the entire Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for its support for terrorism and to apply sanctions to its officials, agents and affiliates,” he said.
Source: Agencies
