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U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday he is pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, European officials said they had struggled to persuade him that the accord has halted Iran's nuclear ambitions.
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"I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal," Trump said during an announcement at the White House. "In a few moments, I will sign a presidential memorandum to begin reinstating U.S. nuclear sanctions on the Iranian regime. We will be instituting the highest level of economic sanctions."
Reacting to the Trump controversial decision Iran says Trump decision on nuclear deal is illegal, illegitimate and undermines international agreements.
"The 5 + 1 today loses its 1, now we must wait to see how the 5 countries will act on it," President of Iran Hasan Rouhani said in a press confernece shortly after Trump's announecment. "The people should not have any concerns about the future of the country, we had reached that conclusion months ago, Trump is not committed to international agreements and we had already taken measures."
Shortly after the Trump annouecment, the top European Union diplomat, Federica Mogherini called on the international community to stick to the Iran nuclear deal. "I am particularly worried by the announcement tonight of new sanctions," Mogherini said.
"The European Union is determined to preserve it," she said of the world powers' 2015 agreement with Tehran. "Together with the rest of the international community, we will preserve this nuclear deal."
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said scrapping the Iran deal meant more instability in the Middle East and said he "deeply regrets" the announcement by Trump: "EU and its international partners must remain committed and Iran must continue to fulfill its obligations."
Also the chairman of EU leaders' talks, Donald Tusk, said Trump's stance on Iran and international trade "will meet a united European approach" and that all 28 EU leaders will discuss the matter when they meet in the Bulgarian capital next Wednesday.
Just few governments in the world had praise for Trump over the withdrawl from the agreement. Meanwhile Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded the Trump decision as his government has been lobbying Washington to pull out of the agreement since Trump took office last year. Saudi Arabia echoed Israel's sentiment saying it fully supports Washington's move against the historic deal.
Israel and Saudi Arabia have been the main critics of the deal causing tensions between Tel Aviv, Riyadh and the Obama administration at the time of the deal’s approval.
The 2015 deal, worked out by the United States, five other international powers and Iran, eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran limiting its nuclear program.
Trump says the agreement, the signature foreign policy achievement of Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, does not address Iran's ballistic missile program, its nuclear activities beyond 2025 nor its role in conflicts in Yemen and Syria.
Iran has ruled out renegotiating the agreement and threatened to retaliate. Renewing sanctions would make it much harder for Iran to sell its oil abroad or use the international banking system.
The United States will reimpose a wide array of Iran-related sanctions after the expiry of 90- and 180-day wind-down periods, including sanctions aimed at Iran's oil sector and transactions with its central bank, the U.S. Treasury said on Tuesday.
In a statement on its website and a related "frequently asked questions" document, the Treasury said sanctions relating to aircraft exports to Iran, the country's metals trade and any efforts by Tehran to acquire U.S. dollars will also be reimposed.
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