Trump refuses to sign off on landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal; calls Tehran a “fanatical regime”

Washington, October 14: Keeping a tough stand against Iran, the United States President Donald Trump on Friday refused to sign off on a nuclear agreement with Tehran calling the nation a “fanatical regime” and accused of sponsoring terrorism.

 

While speaking at the White House, President Donald Trump named Iran a “fanatical regime” and refused to sign off on a landmark international nuclear deal. He also angrily accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism and said he would deny the regime "all paths to a nuclear weapon".

President Trump further accused Iran of not being struck to the “spirit” of a nuclear weapons agreement signed in 2015 and condemned the deal saying it was “too lenient”. The US president said Iran had committed "multiple violations" and he "cannot and will not make this certification".

President Trump on this occasion also revealed that he had directed his administration to work closely with Congress to address the deal's "many flaws" and to make sure the country can never threaten the US with nuclear weapons. “If Congress could not come up with new legislation, he said he would terminate the Obama-era pact,” President Trump added.

However, the President also said that he was not yet ready to implement a campaign pledge to pull the US out of the deal or re-impose nuclear sanctions. In the end, President Trump also announced a new strategy, saying the administration would seek to counter the regime's destabilizing activities and would impose additional sanctions to block its financing of terrorism.

Meanwhile, in a joint statement, the UK, Germany and France said they are concerned by Trump's move but remain committed to the deal. Russia said it remains committed to the deal and is opposed to the use of aggressive and threatening rhetoric in international relations.

Congress requires the US President to certify every 90 days that Iran is upholding its part of the agreement. Trump has already re-certified twice but refused to sign a third time ahead of a Sunday deadline. Congress now has 60 days to decide whether to pull out of the nuclear deal by re-imposing sanctions. The 2015 nuclear deal was signed between Iran, Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany.