MESOPOTAMIA NEWS LIVE : LIVE ACCOUNT – – Donald Trump announces ‘withdrawal’ from Iran nuclear deal – live updates – Mr Trump made the announcement from the White House’s diplomatic room – A SUMMARY OF TODAYS STATEMENTS
Rozina Sabur, Washington – 8 May 2018 • 7:33pm REUTERS / Telegraph UK – Donald Trump has announced the US will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and enforce “powerful” sanctions against the country. The US president said other countries could also be hit by sanctions.
Ahead of Mr Trump’s speech, senior British diplomats said the UK government was “deeply pessimistic” about Mr Trump’s announcement over the Iran nuclear deal this evening. Mr Macron lobbied the US President to stay in the accord during his State Visit – the first of Mr Trump’s administration – but appeared unable to convince him.
The two leaders discussed “issues related to peace and stability in the Middle East” during their phone call on Tuesday, Mr Macron’s office said.
Other European officials have also rushed to Washington over the last few weeks in a bid to convince Mr Trump to stay in the agreement. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, and Britain’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson have both travelled to the US capital hoping to persuade the US government.
The British government has said it will continue to honour the deal, despite believing Mr Trump will renege on the deal.
A senior British diplomat said: “The Foreign Secretary went to Washington this week to make the pitch for the US to remain in the Iran deal. Following that visit, unfortunately we are deeply pessimistic ahead of President Trump’s announcement later today. However, we will have to wait and see what exactly President Trump says tonight.
“Our objective will remain to uphold and maintain the JCPOA. We will need to wait to understand what the US plan is to deliver on our shared goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and addressing their regional behaviour.”
France and Germany have said they will stick with the deal even if the US pulls out. Florence Parly, France’s defence minister, called the deal “a factor of peace and stabilisation in a very eruptive region”.
World leaders and diplomats are scrambling to avoid “uncontrolled escalation” in the Middle East in anticipation of Mr Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement.
The US president may stop short of a complete withdrawal but looks set to reimpose sanctions on Iran’s central bank and its oil sector dealings, a key pillar of the agreement.
What will happen?
Mr Trump’s decision to scrap sanctions relief would have global ramifications, straining Iran’s already crisis-racked economy, heightening tensions in the Middle East and laying bare the biggest transatlantic rift since the Iraq War.
The Iranian rial had lost around a third of its value in six months, before authorities in April took the drastic step of pegging the exchange rate to the dollar.
Mr Trump could also decide to stop waivers for a thicket of other sanctions against Iran, effectively ending US participation in the deal and putting European companies at risk of sanction.
Donald Trump has kept the world guessing ahead of his announcement Credit: Reuters
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani – who very publicly advocated engaging with America and would be politically exposed should the deal fail – said his country would stay in the agreement even if the United States pulls out.
In a nod to Europe, Mr Rouhani said he would keep “working with the world” for “constructive engagement”.
It is unclear whether Iran’s more hardline military leaders, or Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, hold the same view.
And with tensions building between Iran and Israel, Tehran’s response could well come away from diplomatic antechambers or the meeting rooms of multilateral fora.
Mr Trump warned that other nations could be hit by sanctions
7:21PM
Trump: I will withdraw from nuclear deal
I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.
Mr Trump said he will institute the “highest level” of economic sanctions.
“Today’s action sends a critical message: the United States no longer makes empty threats”.
7:19PMDeal could spark ‘arms race’
“Since the agreement, Iran’s bloody ambitions have grown only more brazen,” Mr Trump says.
7:18PM
Iran ‘continued to build its weapons’
Mr Trump cited the Israeli evidence produced last week in suggesting Iran has continued to build its nuclear weapons programme.
7:17PM
Trump: ‘Disastrous deal an embarrassment’
“In theory, the so-called Iran deal was supposed to protect the US and its allies from an Iranian bomb. In fact, the deal allowed Iran to continue enriching uranium”, Mr Trump says.
“At the point when the US had maximum leverage, this disastrous deal… The fact is this was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made.”
7:13PM
Trump begins speaking
“The Iranian regime is the leading state-sponsor of terror”, Mr Trump says.
“Over the years Iran and its proxies have…murdered hundreds of American service members and citizens.”
“No action taken by the regime has been more dangerous than its pursuit of nuclear weapons”.
7:09PM
Israel on ‘high alert’ for Iranian movement
Israel’s defence force says it has spotted Iranian military in Syria and has ordered bomb shelters to be prepared on Israeli-held Golan Heights.
6:50PM
Pence told Congress Trump will withdraw
Mike Pence, the Vice President, reportedly told Congress the US will begin the process of withdrawing from the agreement.
6:47PM
Iran will respond to Trump tonight
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani will respond on state television shortly after Mr Trump’s expected withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
“If Trump speaks, President Rouhani will respond tonight” on television, according to an Iranian official.
However it is not clear what form the withdrawal will take – as the sources do not know which sanctions the president plans to immediately re-impose.
He has several options. A more limited move could leave Mr Trump more room to potentially stay in the deal if other members agree to toughen it. If he moves to reimpose all sanctions it could potentially throw the entire agreement into jeopardy.
5:42PM
Over 100 European political, diplomatic and military figures appeal to Trump
Over 100 former defence ministers, British politicians and ambassadors have appealed to Mr Trump not to take “unilateral action that would jeopardise the deal and trigger a crisis in US-Europe relations”.The figures, which include former Nato Secretary General George Robertson, signed a statement co-ordinated through the pan-European security think-tank the European Leadership Network.
The group of signatories comprises 106 serving and former politicians, ministers, diplomats and military chiefs.
5:39PMIran will act ‘fiercely’
Iranian lawmakers said its parliament will oblige the government to react “fiercely” if Iran’s rights are ignored by the US.
“We parliamentarians, of different political affiliations, support the establishment’s stance against renegotiating the (nuclear) deal. America cannot impose its illegitimate demands on Iran … and ignore Iran’s rights,” they said in a letter addressed to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
5:00PM
Iran will react ‘in its own national interests’
Iran said it will react to Donald Trump’s decision based on its own national interests.
Abbas Araqchi, the deputy foreign minister, told IRNA: “Iran is monitoring the US and European stance closely, and will react to the US decision based on its own national interests.”
His comments followed a meeting with envoys from the UK, France, Germany and the European Union in Brussels.
4:44PM
Trump tells Macron he will withdraw
Mr Trump told the French president he will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and reinstate all sanctions related to it during his phone call, according to the New York Times.
However Mr Macron’s office denied the report and said the president gave no indication of his decision.
4:39PM
Republicans urge Trump to stay in deal
The top Republican on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee said the US should continue to fix flaws in accord and “enforce the hell” out of it, but not withdraw.
Speaking hours before Mr Trump was due to announce his decision, Ed Royce said tearing up the deal would not recover cash sent to Iran’s government or “galvanize” allies into addressing Iran’s dangerous activities.
“I fear a withdrawal would actually set back those efforts,” he said in a statement.
4:34PM How America feels – Nick Allen in Washington writes
As Mr Trump prepared to make his announcement a new poll showed more Americans are against the Iran deal than for it. According to a national survey by the Pew Research Center 40 per cent disapproved and 32 per cent approved of the deal, with 28 per cent offering no opinion.
The overall levels of support and opposition to the deal were similar to a survey taken shortly after it was announced in 2015. However, there was a notable shift in Republican opinion of the deal. Towards the end of 2015 73 per cent of Republicans disapproved of the deal, but that and that figure is now 53 per cent.
The most recent survey showed 27 per cent of Americans said they had heard “a lot” about the agreement, 46 per cent said they had heard “a little,” and 26 per cent had heard “nothing at all” about it.
Meanwhile, a CNN poll showed 63 per cent of Americans saying the US should not withdraw from the agreement. The same poll showed that 62 per cent believed Iran had violated the terms of the deal.
4:14PM
Iran ‘not afraid’ of US military attack
Iran’s revolutionary guard is not afraid of US sanctions or military attack and is prepared for the worst scenarios, its deputy commander said on Tuesday.
“Our nation is not afraid of U.S. sanctions or military attack. Our enemies including America, the Zionist regime and the allies in the region should know that Iran has prepared for the worst scenarios and threats,” Hossein Salami was quoted as saying by Fars news agency.
4:13PM
Trump expected to quit deal, European officials say
Senior European officials expect Mr Trump to announce he is pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, European officials said, after they struggled to persuade him that the accord has halted Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
The reports followed a phone call between Mr Trump and Emmanuel Macron, the French president, during which they discussed the announcement.
One senior European official closely involved in Iran diplomacy said US officials had indicated late on Monday that the president would withdraw from the deal but it remained unclear on what terms, and whether all sanctions would be reimposed.A senior Western diplomat said France, Britain and Germany – which were also party to the agreement – were working on the assumption of a hard US exit after a call last week between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and European officials at which he made clear talks on rescuing the deal would not go further.