On 8thMay the US President, Donald Trump announced the unilateral withdrawal of the US from the Nuclear Deal with Iran (officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA).
On 8thMay the US President, Donald Trump announced the unilateral withdrawal of the US from the Nuclear Deal with Iran (officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA).
The JCPOA was negotiated with Iran in July 2015, by the US together with the UK, China, France, the EU, Russia and Germany. According to the agreement, Iran would have to greatly limit its program of developing nuclear weapons and subject its nuclear program to intense monitoring by the IAEA. The agreement provides that in return for verifiably abiding by its commitments, Iran would receive relief from U.S., European Union, and United Nations Security Council nuclear-related economic sanctions.
Since the start of the agreement’s implementation, in 2016, international regulators and national intelligence services have all verified Iran’s compliance. IAEA Director stated (in March 2018) that the organization has verified that Iran is implementing its nuclear-related commitments.
One of US President Trump’s election promises was to withdraw from the Nuclear Deal with Iran, which he has claimed is against the interests of the US. Since taking office, Trump waived sanctions related to the JCPOA three times, ensuring the U.S. would remain in compliance with the deal. However, he accompanied each announcement with increasingly belligerent rhetoric, signaling time and time again his government’s intention to withdraw from the deal.
On 30th April, 2018, the US and Israel claimed that Iran had allegedly not disclosed some part of its nuclear program to the IAEA, despite the assurances given by the IAEA authorities. With this as the immediate justification, on 8th May, the US officially withdrew from the deal.
Having withdrawn from the Nuclear Deal, the US is likely to once again impose crippling sanctions on Iran, which have caused enormous hardship for the people there. These will gravely affect Iran’s trade with other countries, since the US sanctions are likely to include those that will ban or restrict other countries from trading and carrying out business with Iran.
The withdrawal of US from the Nuclear Deal with Iran is the latest move in the consistent attempts of the US imperialists to pressurize Iran to give up its sovereign right to pursue its own economic and political course, free from external imperialist interference. It is their latest attempt to isolate and demonize Iran.
The US imperialists and their allies have been carrying out incessant propaganda that the development of nuclear power by Iran is a “danger to world peace”. They hide the reality that that the biggest stockpile of nuclear weapons is in the hands of the US imperialists. The Israeli state, which has displaced the Palestinian people from their homeland and continues to commit the worst atrocities on them, has also been armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons, with the full support of the US imperialists.
US imperialism’s withdrawal from the Nuclear Deal with Iran is a clear signal to its allies Israel and Saudi Arabia, to step up their attacks and provocations against Iran. It opens the way for intensifying military conflict in Syria and Lebanon and increases the danger of war in the region. Israel has already stepped up its attack and carried out air-strikes on Iranian forces in Syria. It has increased its attacks and provocations on Hamas forces in Lebanon. Saudi Arabia is also likely to intensify its attacks in Yemen.
Iran’s steadfast resistance to the threats and pressures of the US imperialists and their allies is a source of inspiration to the peoples of many countries of West Asia who desire to be free from the oppressive rule of imperialist backed regimes. These regimes have left no stone unturned to collaborate with the US imperialists to destroy the Iranian revolution, but have so far failed. It may be recalled that in May 2017, when Trump toured West Asia, he had accused Iran of “providing safe harbor to terrorists” and called on the reactionary rulers there to come together under US leadership to overthrow the regime in Iran. Trump had openly declared the intent of his government to continue to try to isolate, destabilize and threaten Iran and enforce regime change in that country.
The unilateral withdrawal of the US from the Nuclear Deal with Iran has not been supported by some of its major allies and partners to the deal, such as Germany, France and Britain. These powers, together with Russia and China, have announced their intention to maintain their commitments to the JCPOA. They are also likely to resist the attempts of the US imperialists to extend the sanctions to penalize other countries from carrying out trade and business with Iran. This will undoubtedly lead to exacerbation of inter-imperialist contradictions, increasing the threat of war.
The attempts of US imperialism to isolate Iran, to aggress, interfere and carry out regime change in other countries which refuse to align themselves to the geo-political ambitions of the US must be roundly condemned by freedom-loving and peace-loving people all over the world.