IRAN/NUCLEAR/SANCTIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump announced Tuesday [5-8-18] he is quitting the Iran nuclear deal, pitting him against the United States’ closest allies and leaving the future of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in question. ‘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 from the White House Diplomatic Room. ‘The Iran deal is defective at its core. If we do nothing we know exactly what will happen.’ In announcing his decision, Trump said he would initiate new sanctions on the regime, crippling the touchstone agreement negotiated by his predecessor. Trump said any country that helps Iran obtain nuclear weapons would also be ‘strongly sanctioned…’Senior Trump administration officials — including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats — have said Iran is adhering to its commitments under the deal. But Trump has argued while they may be sticking to the letter of the accord, they have violated its spirit by fostering discord in the region.”
-Kevin Liptak, “Trump announces withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal, isolating him further from world,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, May 8, 2018 2:47 pm