New York : World leaders gathered at the United Nations this week are urging President Donald Trump not to follow through on his threat to derail the Iran nuclear deal.
But so far, Trump shows no sign of listening to them. And some diplomats and supporters of the agreement even worry the efforts could backfire by triggering Trump’s defiantly contrarian instincts.
The issue will take center stage on Wednesday, when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson joins a multinational meeting on the nuclear deal that will also be attended by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, the first time the two men will meet face-to-face. The session is being held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
The meeting will come a day after Trump said in his Tuesday address to the U.N.’s annual gathering that the nuclear deal was “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into” and “an embarrassment to the U.S.”
But Trump offered no specific clues about his plans, saying only, “I don’t think you’ve heard the last of it. Believe me.”
Former aides to President Barack Obama are growing increasingly worried that Trump will reject the advice of some of this top advisers and declare Tehran in violation of the agreement, struck in July 2015 by Iran, the U.S., China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany. That would open the door Congress to reimpose sanctions that many experts say could provoke Iran to restart its nuclear program.
Officials from several nations have communicated their concerns to Trump, as well as to White House and State Department officials, foreign diplomats and analysts briefed on the conversations told POLITICO.
Courtesy: politico.com
