The White House has released its justification for violating the Iran nuclear deal and re-imposing sanctions lifted under the deal.
“The re-imposed sanctions will target critical sectors of Iran’s economy, such as its energy, petrochemical, and financial sectors,” according to the White House brief. “Those doing business in Iran will be provided a period of time to allow them to wind down operations in or business involving Iran.
Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee, condemned Trump’s decision to withdraw from the accord as “a grave mistake”.
“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,” Menendez said in a statement.
“Today’s withdrawal from the JCPOA makes it more likely Iran will restart its nuclear weapons program in the future.”
Menendez also called on Trump to immediately dispatch his national security team to Capitol Hill to explain his administration’s strategy toward Iran before Congress.
Chris Murphy, a Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee, dubbed Trump’s announcement as “terrible news”.
“Pulling out of the Iran deal is like a soccer player deliberately kicking the ball into their own team’s goal,” Murphy said. “There is nothing but downside for the U.S., especially since Trump has zero plan for what comes next.”
Murphy added that Trump’s move would not only escalate nuclear crisis with Iran but also complicate negotiations with North Korea, stating: “It will make it even harder to convince Kim Jong Un to give up his nuclear weapons because we just showed that we can’t be trusted to live up to our end of a bargain.”