Trump gambles on different path with Iran

President Donald Trump’s decision to exit the Iran nuclear deal has already pushed Brent prices above $77 per barrel.

France’s foreign minister on Wednesday said the deal “is not dead”, as China vowed to safeguard the accord.

Vipin Narang, a professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, made a similar point, tweeting that Trump’s decision “is a stark reminder across the world: Deals are reversible and can have expiration dates, while nuclear weapons can offer lifetime insurance”.

After denouncing the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement as a “disaster” and the “worst trade deal maybe ever”, Trump last year called for the pact to be renegotiated, but stopped short of withdrawing. “China isn’t going to kowtow to the United States on this, and so the Europeans might see how China fares in resisting U.S. pressure on Iran“, he told AFP.

Britain, in updated advice to exporters late on Tuesday, said it “continues to fully support expanding our trade relationship with Iran and encourages United Kingdom businesses to take advantage of the commercial opportunities that arise”.

In his statement, Zarif accused Trump of “ignorance and folly” and said American foreign policy had “dragged the Middle East into chaos”.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the U.S. decision to withdraw from the deal was a serious blow.

London, Berlin and Paris have kept details of their strategy under wraps, but a report by the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank outlined steps that could reassure businesses working with Iran and help moderate Iranian leaders persuade hardliners to stick with the deal.

Le Drian, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the International Atomic Energy Agency all said Iran was honoring its commitments under the accord. One of the main topics of Macron’s trip to Russian Federation in May will be the Iran nuclear deal. But it added: “As directed by the President, we will continue to work with nations around the world to create a new coalition to counter Iran’s nuclear and proliferation threats, as well as its support for terrorism, militancy, and asymmetric weapons like ballistic missiles”.

Trump’s action will reinstate economic sanctions against Iran, pledge new ones and increase the risk of confrontation with an Iranian regime that has shown little interest in peaceful cooperation.

Iran had struck the JCPoA deal with the United States, the UK, Russia, China, France, and Germany after years of negotiations.

Trump’s decisions on Russian Federation and now on Iran has put India on horns of dilemma. “The Iran deal is defective at its core”.

“We hope we can, but there are a lot of things playing a role in this”, she said.

“The kingdom supports and welcomes the steps announced by the USA president toward withdrawing from the nuclear deal. and reinstating economic sanctions against Iran”, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said. “‘Whatever I gave you, I want back, ‘” Zarif said. We don’t do something just because the United States does it.

It meant that Iran couldn’t trade with a lot of other countries.

Iran’s poor economy and unemployment sparked violent nationwide protests in December and January that saw at least 25 people killed and, reportedly, almost 5,000 people arrested.

That appears unlikely after Mnuchin said this week that he intends to revoke licenses for the Airbus sales as well as planned plane sales by USA manufacturer Boeing.

Major companies in the U.S. and Europe could be hurt, too.