Trump Withdraws US from Iran Nuclear Deal

 

President Donald Trump¹ has withdrawn² the United States from an international agreement aimed at controlling Iran’s nuclear program.

The Iranian government agreed to the deal with the U.S., Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany in 2015.

Since then, Trump has criticized the deal, calling it “very badly negotiated.”

Speaking in the White House on Tuesday, the president said that Iran was responsible for unrest throughout the Middle East.

Trump accused Iran of being “the leading state sponsor of terror,” saying it supported groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Taliban. But he added that, “No action taken by the regime has been more dangerous than the pursuit of nuclear weapons.”

Trump said that Iran’s leaders had refused to renegotiate the nuclear deal. Yet the U.S. leader suggested that he is “willing, ready and able” to negotiate a new deal.

The president said he is re-establishing the “highest levels of economic sanctions” on Iran.

For years, the U.S. government used sanctions targeted at Iran’s oil industry and central bank. The sanctions were no longer enforced after the nuclear deal took effect. Those measures, including others by the European Union, were meant to pressure Iran to limit its nuclear activities.

The re-establishment of U.S. sanctions on Iran comes when world oil prices are at their highest levels in three years. The nuclear deal had permitted Iran to sell oil to the Western countries.

At the same time, Iran continues to experience economic problems. Unemployment and inflation remain high, while the value of Iranian money has fallen.

A disputed deal on nuclear development

Iran’s government has said that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is meeting the terms of the deal 10 times.

The European Commission said Tuesday that “the agreement is working and our commitment to continue with implementation³ remains⁴.”

As recently as last week, Iran threatened the United States if it withdrew from the agreement. However, on Tuesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani eased comments. He said his country would continue its “engagement with the world.”

Rouhani also said that if the U.S. does not waive⁵ restrictions⁶, “It is possible that we will face some problems for two or three months, but we will pass through this.”

The 2015 agreement is known as the Joint⁷ Comprehensive Plan of Action. It states that Iran would consider restarting sanctions as “grounds to cease performing its commitments” to limit its nuclear development program partly or completely.

In recent weeks, U.S. allies in Europe have urged Trump to keep the existing deal. They have also shown a willingness to talk about Iran’s long distance missile program and activities in the Middle East.

Objections to the deal

Trump has objected to the 2015 agreement for several reasons. He said it does not limit Iran’s development of long distance missiles in any way. The deal ends restrictions on Iran’s nuclear enrichment program after 2025. And it does not deal with Iran’s military activities in Syria, Yemen and other places.

Critics say the deal does not stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and that the country continues to carry out development.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been a sharp critic of the deal since it was first announced three years ago. Last week, Netanyahu presented documents, images and other information meant to prove that Iran is still trying to build nuclear weapons.

Withdrawing from the deal could hurt some U.S. companies seeking to do business in Iran. Last year, aircraft maker⁸ Boeing delayed plans to supply Iran with more than $16 billion in passenger airplanes.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

sponsor –n. person, group or state that provides money for a cause or activity

regime –n. a form of government

pursuit –v. to reach a goal or accomplish something

sanction - n. a measure designed to punish a country for failure to obey international laws or rules

implementation –n. the act of carrying out or doing something

waive –v. to choose not to do or enforce something that otherwise would have to be done or enforced

cease –v. to stop

commitments –n. promises to do something or meet responsibilities

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

3 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 waive   

vt.放弃，不坚持(规定、要求、权力等)

参考例句：

• I'll record to our habitat office waive our claim immediately.我立即写信给咱们的总公司提出放弃索赔。
• In view of the unusual circumstances,they agree to waive their requirement.鉴于特殊情况，他们同意放弃他们的要求。

6 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。