"Own Goal" in "A Sad Day": US President Under Fire from Dems, Republicans for Exiting Iran Deal

Rasa - US President Donald Trump came under fire from both his political opponents and fellow Republicans for pulling Washington out of the Iran nuclear deal, with lawmakers arguing the move will embolden Tehran and make the United States less secure.

News ID: 437597

Date: 09 May 2018 - 23:04

RNA - The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) tweeted immediately after the US President announced Washington's withdrawal from the deal that “Trump and his Republicans will go down in history as the party that destroyed our country's credibility, ruined our global reputation, and made the world a more dangerous place — all to sabotage President Obama's legacy. Vote them all out. Every single one".

California Democratic lawmaker Adam Schiff described Trump’s decision as a mistake of "historic proportions".

“Decision to withdraw from Iran deal will undermine our national security, increase prospect of a nuclear Iran or a conflict with them, and cause the world to conclude America doesn't keep its word. Scuttling the deal without a Plan B is not a strategy, but a dangerous abdication,” Schiff said.

The Senate's second-ranking Democrat, Dick Durbin, went as far as calling the decision a "mistake of historic proportions" that will allow Iran to resume its nuclear program and lead to self-isolation.

"It isolates the United States from the world at a time when we need our allies to come together to address nuclear threats elsewhere, particularly in Korea. This is a mistake of historic proportions," Durbin said in a statement, adding that "the last thing America and the world need right now is a new nuclear threat".

Chris Murphy, a Democrat member of the Senate foreign relations committee, described Trump’s announcement as “terrible news”, stressing that “pulling out of the Iran deal is like a soccer player deliberately kicking the ball into their own team’s goal”.

“There is nothing but downside for the US, especially since Trump has zero plan for what comes next,” he added.

Senator Bob Menendez, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said "with this decision President Trump is risking US national security, recklessly upending foundational partnerships with key US allies in Europe and gambling with Israel's security".

Senator Mark Warner noted that by turning a blind eye to the concerns of Washington's European partners, the US risks losing the support of Europe in implementing any further punitive measures it may devise against Iran, stressing that the pullout "will only succeed in driving a wedge between us and our allies".

Senior Democratic legislator on the Senate Intelligence Committee Mark Warner issued a statement, warning against creating rift between the US and its allies.

"Simply withdrawing the United States from the JCPOA will not benefit the American people and US national security: it will only succeed in driving a wedge between us and our allies, whose help we need to enforce any future sanctions regime against Iran," he said, adding that “withdrawing from this agreement makes the United States, and the world, less secure".

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi described Tuesday a "sad day for America's global leadership" and warned that “Trump Administration's dangerous and impulsive action is no substitute for real global leadership".

Ohio Republican representative Mike Turner, who is also a senior member of House Armed Services Committee, lashed out at Trump for abandoning the JCPOA without any proof.

"Without proof that Iran is in violation of the agreement, it is a mistake to fully withdraw from this deal," Turner said.

Republican Maine Senator Susan Collins also stressed that she preferred that the US would "remedy” the “flaws” in the nuclear deal with its allies rather than walking away from the accord.

Independent US Senator Bernie Sanders expressed concern that Trump’s “reckless decision” would lead to another open-end war for the US.

“After 17 years of war in Afghanistan and 15 years of war in Iraq, the American people do not want to be engaged in never-ending wars in the Middle East. I am deeply concerned that that is exactly where President Trump is taking us with regard to Iran,” Sanders said, adding that “President Trump’s speech today was the latest in a series of reckless decisions that move our country closer to conflict”.

“Trump’s decision isolates the United States from our most important European allies who all continue to support the agreement and have consistently said that it is in their own national security interests to see it upheld,” Sanders stated.

The Vermont senator warned that abandoning the JCPOA would “seriously harm” Washington’s future non-proliferation negotiations, including with North Korea, stressing that “why would any country in the world sign such an agreement with the United States, and make the touch concessions, if they thought that a reckless president might simply discard that agreement a few years later?”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters he did not see any reason for US withdrawal from the deal, noting that "there are no reports that Iran has violated the agreement".

The US President promised Tuesday the highest level of sanctions on Iran after announcing that Washington is leaving the nuclear deal.

The Treasury Department said there will be "certain 90-day and 180-day wind-down periods" after which the sanctions will be in "full effect", including sanctions against Iran's oil sector, metal trades and transactions with its central bank, adding that sanctions will also be re-imposed on aircraft exports to Iran and the country's efforts by Tehran to acquire US dollars.

According to Press TV, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told reporters that licenses for airplane manufacturers Boeing and Airbus to sell passenger jets, parts and services to Iran will be revoked after a 90-day period.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has been monitoring Iran’s compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA and has consistently verified Tehran’s compliance.

Iran has always insisted that its atomic program is merely for peaceful purposes and that the West is using the nuclear case as a pretext to put pressure on Tehran.

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