FOREIGN POLICY/IRAN/NATIONAL SECURITY/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration vowed Friday [1-12-18] to pull out of the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear accord without substantial changes to it, setting the clock ticking on tough negotiations with Washington’s European allies.
It also imposed punitive new actions not directly related to Iran’s nuclear program meant to pressure Tehran over ongoing missile tests and a recent crackdown on Iranian protesters. After waiving penalties against Tehran on Friday, Mr. Trump next faces such a decision in May… While Mr. Trump says the 2015 deal gives Iran too much in sanctions relief for too few curbs on its nuclear program, European leaders have pushed back against major revisions. That, they fear, could give Tehran an excuse to walk away from the deal entirely, accelerating Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon.
The EU’s foreign service unit on Friday said the bloc would discuss Mr. Trump’s announcement… China and Russia, which were part of the international group that negotiated the 2015 deal, also have strongly backed the accord and have dismissed the possibility of changing it.
Senior administration officials said the White House would consider remaining party to a nuclear deal with Iran, but only if it was modified. Any new deal requires no expiration on the threat that the U.S. and its European partners could snap stringent sanctions back into place if Iran ramps up its nuclear activities, these people said.”
-Ian Talley, Felicia Schwartz, and Laurence Norman, “U.S. Vows to Withdraw From Iran Nuclear Deal Without Major Changes,” The Wall Street Journal online, Jan. 13, 2018 04:01am