Former US President Barack Obama has slammed President Trump’s decision on Tuesday to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement that Obama helped negotiate.
“There
are few issues more important to the security of the United States than
the potential spread of nuclear weapons, or the potential for even more
destructive war in the Middle East,” Obama said in a 950-word statement
that never mentioned Trump by name.
In
2015, Obama and former Secretary of State John Kerry brokered the
so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action limiting Tehran’s nuclear
program.
“The reality is clear,” Obama said Tuesday.
“The JCPOA is working — that is a view shared by our European allies,
independent experts, and the current U.S. Secretary of Defense. The
JCPOA is in America’s interest — it has significantly rolled back Iran’s
nuclear program. And the JCPOA is a model for what diplomacy can
accomplish — its inspections and verification regime is precisely what
the United States should be working to put in place with North Korea.
“Indeed,
at a time when we are all rooting for diplomacy with North Korea to
succeed, walking away from the JCPOA risks losing a deal that
accomplishes — with Iran — the very outcome that we are pursuing with
the North Koreans,” the former president continued. “That is why today’s
announcement is so misguided. Walking away from the JCPOA turns our
back on America’s closest allies, and an agreement that our country’s
leading diplomats, scientists, and intelligence professionals
negotiated. In a democracy, there will always be changes in policies and
priorities from one Administration to the next. But the consistent
flouting of agreements that our country is a party to risks eroding
America’s credibility, and puts us at odds with the world’s major
powers.”
Stressing
that policy “debates in our country should be informed by facts,” Obama
detailed six “facts,” noting that the agreement was reached after
building an international coalition that included the United Kingdom,
France, Germany, the European Union, Russia, China, and Iran; it has
succeeded in “rolling back Iran’s nuclear program”; the deal is
“strictly monitored” by international watchdogs; Iran is in compliance
with the agreement; the agreement never expires; and the deal “was never
intended to solve all of our problems with Iran.”
“We
were clear-eyed that Iran engages in destabilizing behavior — including
support for terrorism, and threats toward Israel and its neighbors,”
Obama said. “But that’s precisely why it was so important that we
prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”
He added, “I believe that the decision to put the JCPOA at risk without any Iranian violation of the deal is a serious mistake.”
Source: Yahoo News
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