President Donald Trump takes US out of Iran nuclear deal (WATCH LIVE)

Admin Tue 08 May 2018, 6:24 pm

President Donald Trump takes US out of Iran nuclear deal (WATCH LIVE)
https://www.rt.com/usa/426189-trump-iran-nuclear-deal/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=push_notifications&utm_campaign=push_notifications
Published time: 8 May, 2018 18:13
President Donald Trump takes US out of Iran nuclear deal (WATCH LIVE)
© Joshua Roberts / Reuters
US President Donald Trump is announcing his decision regarding the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal with Iran. Trump is expected to accuse Tehran of violating the “spirit” of the agreement and reimpose US sanctions.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), imposed strict restrictions on Iran’s nuclear capabilities in exchange for relief from UN-imposed sanctions. The 2015 agreement was signed by Iran and the five permanent UN Security Council members (Russia, China, the US, UK, France) and Germany.

The deal was seen as a crowning achievement of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy. Trump, however, repeatedly called the agreement “one the worst deals ever” and vowed to repeal it during his 2016 presidential campaign.

So far, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly certified Iran’s full compliance with the agreement, and the European Union has deferred to its judgment.

EU stands by deal
UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, visiting DC this week, cautioned that scrapping the deal would be “throwing the baby out with the bathwater.” Johnson was able to meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, but not with Trump.

Scrapping the 2015 nuclear deal “would mean opening Pandora’s box, there could be war,” French President Emmanuel Macron told the German weekly Der Spiegel. Macron spoke on the phone with Trump on Tuesday, just hours before the announcement. He also made a state visit to Washington last month, with the deal as one of the topics of discussion.

Macron was followed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but there were no indications she managed to change Trump’s mind.

Israel is against
Israel was against the 2015 deal from the beginning. Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu staged a slide presentation claiming that the entire deal was based on lies, and showing off dossiers and discs he said Israeli spies had retrieved from Tehran, proving that Iran had a nuclear weapons program.

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ICYMI: #Netanyahu showed PowerPoint presentation claiming #Iran has nuclear weapons program https://on.rt.com/94ce

4:45 AM - May 1, 2018

Netanyahu shows slides, shelves of docs claiming Iran has nuclear weapons program — RT World News
Iran lied about its nuclear program, making the 2015 deal invalid, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address from Tel Aviv, using big-screen presentation slides and video.

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Iran: US violating deal
On Sunday, Iran warned the US against breaking the deal, with President Hassan Rouhani saying that “if the United States leaves the nuclear agreement, you will soon see that they will regret it like never before in history.”

Speaker of the Iranian parliament, Ali Larijani, accused the US of falling short of its obligations as a signatory to the landmark agreement, noting that “it seems you can only speak with the Americans in the language of force, and there is no other solution.” His comments were reported by Iranian news agency IRNA.

Any attempts by Trump to dismantle the nuclear deal would only serve to unify the Iranian people and encourage “the great Iranian nation to continue on the path of the Islamic Revolution firmly behind the leadership of its supreme leader," Larijani added.

What's in the deal?
Read more
Vienna January 16, 2016. © Kevin LamarqueThe Iran nuclear deal explained
Iran’s nuclear program dates back to the 1950s and was, ironically, set up with American help before the 1979 revolution ended most of Iran’s ties with the US.

Under the JCPOA,Tehran gave up 98 percent of the enriched uranium it already had, and only keeps material enriched to the lowest threshold of five percent (weapons-grade uranium starts at 85 percent).

Two-thirds of Iran’s enrichment centrifuges are halted, leaving only around 6,000 older models operational. Any remaining materials and facilities are to be used strictly for scientific, medical, and agricultural purposes.

Iran’s compliance is being monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The JCPOA boosts the IAEA mission in Iran from 50 to 150 experts with round-the-clock access to any nuclear-related facilities, and additionally envisions remote and satellite surveillance.

In return, UN and EU sanctions against Iran were either suspended or lifted, and no new sanctions will be introduced as long as the JCPOA is in effect. The US, however, never agreed to permanently lift or even suspend its own sanctions.

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Trump set to announce nuke deal pullout; IDF warns Golan of possible Iran attack
'Abnormal' Iranian military movements in Syria sparks high alert in Israel, army instructs northern communities to open bomb shelters
11min ago
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-may-8-2018/?utm_source=liveblog-may-8-2018&utm_medium=desktop-browser&utm_campaign=desktop-notifications
The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they happen.

11min ago
Golan Heights mayor: ‘Army told us to open bomb shelters’
The mayor of Katzrin, the largest town on the Israeli side of the Golan Heights, confirms to Hadashot television that local governments in the north “received instructions from the IDF to open shelters.”

According to the mayor, Dima Apartsev, “our shelters have been open for a week. We’re ready, but things are still at our regular routine. We’re just keeping our eyes open.”

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17min ago
‘Abnormal’ Iranian military movements in Syria sparks high alert in Israel
The IDF instructs local governments in the Golan Heights to open bomb shelters to residents, citing “abnormal movements of Iranian forces in Syria.”

The army says it has deployed air defenses in northern Israel and “there is high readiness of IDF troops for an attack.”

The military calls on residents to listen for security instructions.

“The IDF is ready and prepared for a variety of scenarios and warns that any action against Israel will be answered with a fierce retaliation,” the army says.

— Judah Ari Gross

23min ago
Trump to withdrawal from nuke deal, but delay reimposing sanctions – report
Members of Congress say US President Donald Trump will announce the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal — but won’t immediately reimpose sanctions on Tehran. According to the unnamed lawmakers, Trump is expected to announce a three-month waiting period to renegotiate some of the elements in the deal that Trump has criticized.

35min ago
Iran’s Rouhani will respond to Trump tonight
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani will respond on state television on Tuesday, shortly after US counterpart Donald Trump’s expected withdrawal from the nuclear deal, an Iranian official tells AFP.

“If Trump speaks, President Rouhani will respond tonight” on television, says the official on condition of anonymity.

A US official in Washington tells AFP that Trump will announce he is pulling the United States out of the nuclear deal signed with world powers in 2015.

— AFP

36min ago
Jerusalem Police plan massive deployment around US embassy ceremony next week
Jerusalem police are planning for a massive security operation to prevent any attempts by Palestinians to disrupt the US embassy’s move to Jerusalem on May 15.

These preparations include deploying some 1,750 cops around the southern Jerusalem site that is currently the US consulate in the city, and the forming of a massive police line separating the compound from the nearby Palestinian village of Tsur Baher, Hadashot television news reports.

The report also says police will prevent the mosques of Tsur Baher from sounding the call to prayer during the ceremony, out of a concern that the mosque loudspeakers will be used to disrupt the event.

1hr ago
Trump to withdraw US from Iran nuclear deal — sources
Multiple US-based media outlets say that sources familiar with the decision have confirmed that US President Donald Trump is following through on his campaign promise and withdrawing the US from the nuclear accord with Iran.

The reports come an hour before Trump is expected to make the announcement.

It isn’t immediately clear which sanctions lifted under the deal that Trump plans to immediately re-impose, but it will take some six months to reinstate many of them.

Trump still has several options. A more limited move could leave Trump more room to potentially stay in the deal if other members agree to toughen it.

The US president has long criticized the 2015 agreement, which lifted most US and international sanctions against the country. In return, Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear program making it impossible to produce a bomb, along with rigorous inspections.

— AP contributed to this report

2hr ago
Macron’s office denies Trump told him he’s pulling out of nuclear deal
French President Emmanuel Macron’s office denies that US President Donald Trump indicated to the French leader that the US would withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal by reinstating sanctions on Iran, Reuters reports.

The New York Times reported earlier today that Trump had notified Macron he would reinstate sanctions, effectively walking away from the 2015 agreement.

2hr ago
Ahead of US embassy move, security chiefs meet over expected violence
The heads of Israel’s security services — the Israel Defense Forces, Shin Bet, and Israel Police — meet in the army’s Tel Aviv headquarters to discuss the potential for increased violence from Palestinian terror groups and their forces’ general readiness, the army says.

“As part of the meeting, a situational assessment concerning the Palestinian arena was discussed, as well as the preparedness of the security forces for the coming period and inter-agency cooperation,” the army says in a statement.

Israel expects to see heightened tension among Palestinians in the coming days, ahead of the US embassy’s move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14 and the Nakba Day protests — commemorating the displacement of Palestinians after Israel’s founding — the next day.

Israeli defense officials are also concerned over an expected retaliatory strike by Iran or one of its proxies against military sites in northern Israel, in response to recent airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria that have been attributed to Israel.

The meeting included IDF chief Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, Shin Bet head Nadav Argaman, and Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich, as well as senior officers from each service.

— Judah Ari Gross