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President Trump unleashed a scorching attack on Iran Friday for causing “death, destruction and chaos around the globe” but stopped short of torpedoing the Iranian nuclear deal.
In a fiery speech announcing a more muscular approach toward Tehran, Trump accused the regime of violating the “spirit” of the landmark 2015 accord.
Rather than tearing up the deal, as he vowed during the campaign, the President punted the issue to Congress.
“We will not continue down a path whose predictable conclusion is more violence, more terror and the very real threat of Iran’s nuclear break out,” Trump said Friday.
Trump accused Iran of “multiple violations” and said the rogue nation was not “living up to the spirit of the deal.”
The White House had telegraphed Trump’s plan to announce his refusal to certify the agreement negotiated by President Obama.
The move forces Congress to decide within 60 days whether to reinstall the old sanctions, alter them, or do nothing.
The options leave lawmakers in a box — any decision to snap back the sanctions would automatically blow up the agreement.
“In the event we are not able to reach a solution working with Congress and our allies, then the agreement will be terminated,” Trump said.
“It is under continuous review and our participation can be canceled by me as President at any time.”
Trump, echoing the language he used in the campaign, described the accord as “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the U.S. has ever entered into.”
The decision to disavow rather than destroy the agreement came after a pitched debate among Trump’s cabinet.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis argued that it was in the U.S.’s best interest to stick with a deal supported by the globe’s most powerful nations.
The President opened the speech with a blistering denunciation of the Iranian regime and announced new measures to handcuff Tehran.
The President said Tehran finances terror groups, falsely imprisons Americans, and has spread “death, destruction and chaos around the globe.”
“Given the regime’s murderous past and present, we should not take lightly the sinister vision for the future,” he added.
“The regime’s two favorite chants are ‘Death to America and ‘Death to Israel.”‘
Trump said his administration will unveil additional sections and work with allies to repel Iran’s efforts to destabilize the region and bolster terror groups.
The sanctions will target Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, which Trump described as the “Iranian Supreme Leader’s corrupt personal terror force and militia.”
Under the landmark accord, Iran agreed to halt its efforts to develop nuclear weapons and to submit to inspections in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions by the United States and other nations.
The agreement drew wide support from many American allies and furious condemnation from Israel and several Republicans.
Ahead of Trump’s speech, Tillerson said the administration hopes to strengthen the deal.
“Let’s see if we can address the deficiencies that exist within this agreement,” he said.
Tillerson said Trump will ask lawmakers to produce legislation that would automatically re-install sanctions should Iran cross any one of numerous nuclear and non-nuclear “trigger points.”
The thresholds could include ballistic missile tests and support for Syrian President Bashar Assad and regional terror groups.
The leaders of Britain, France and Germany said in a joint statement they “stand committed” to the nuclear deal and are “concerned by the possible implications” of Trump’s decision to no longer back it in its current form.
They called the agreement “the culmination of 13 years of diplomacy” and “a major step towards ensuring that Iran’s nuclear program is not diverted for military purposes.”
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country “will continue to stick to” the nuclear deal, calling it “much stronger” than the President thinks. Rouhani made the comments in a speech that aired Friday night on state television.
With News Wire Services.