Washington, DC. The United States entered into an agreement long before Donald Trump ever took office, now his Secretary of State Tillerson is on a mission to kill the deal any way he can, but is running into a brick wall with the European Union that expects America to keep its word.
President Donald Trump ordered the review to evaluate whether suspension of sanctions related to the nuclear deal was “vital to the national security interests of the United States”, Tillerson said
The US secretary of state has accused Iran of “alarming ongoing provocations’ to destabilise countries in the Middle East as the Trump administration launched a review of its policy towards Tehran. Secretary Tillerson said the review would not only look at Tehran’s compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal but also its behaviour in the region which he said undermined US interests in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon.
His aggressive language matched those of US defense secretary James Mattis, who said in a visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday that Iran’s destabilising influence would have to be overcome to end the conflict in Yemen, “no matter who America had to step on to get the job done.”
Though there was no sign the Trump administration intended to walk away from the deal, Tillerson twice cautioned that if left unchecked Tehran could become a threat like North Korea, which is also under pressure over its nuclear ambitions.
Iran has yet to comment on the Trump administration’s review, but Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei warned in November that Tehran would retaliate if the United States breached the nuclear agreement.
The nuclear agreement, negotiated during Barack Obama’s presidency, placed limitations on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting economic sanctions against Iran. During his presidential campaign, Trump called the agreement “the worst deal ever negotiated” and said he would review it once he reached office.
European Union foreign policy chief, Frederica Mogherini, said last month after meetings with senior Trump administration officials she was reassured in the talks that the US was committed to its full implementation. Experts continue to suggest that without EU pressure, the US would also be trying to start a war with Iran currently.