AP, Washington :
Former US president Barack Obama made a rare public criticism of his successor Tuesday, describing Donald Trump’s decision to abandon the Iran nuclear deal as “misguided” and a “serious mistake.”
Former secretary of state John Kerry said the decision “puts Israel at greater risk.” “The reality is clear. The JCPOA is working,” Obama said in a statement, referring to the deal his administration brokered in 2015 by its acronym. “That is a view shared by our European allies, independent experts, and the current US secretary of defense.” “That is why today’s announcement is so misguided,” he added. “I believe that the decision to put the JCPOA at risk without any Iranian violation of the deal is a serious mistake.”
Obama also warned: “The consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to risks eroding America’s credibility, and puts us at odds with the world’s major powers.”
Last June, Trump withdrew the US from another landmark deal brokered by the Obama administration, the 2015 Paris Agreement, which dealt with climate change mitigation.
Obama said that without the nuclear deal, the US “could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East.”
He said the deal remains a model for what diplomacy can accomplish, including when it comes to North Korea.
There are few issues more important to the security of the United States than the potential spread of nuclear weapons, or the potential for even more destructive war in the Middle East. That’s why the United States negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the first place.
The reality is clear. The JCPOA is working – that is a view shared by our European allies, independent experts, and the current U.S. Secretary of Defense. The JCPOA is in America’s intere… See more
John Kerry, who was Obama’s secretary of state and a main architect of the pact, also slammed Trump’s announcement, saying it was contrary to US interests.
“Today’s announcement weakens our security, breaks America’s word, isolates us from our European allies, puts Israel at greater risk, empowers Iran’s hardliners, and reduces our global leverage to address Tehran’s misbehavior, while damaging the ability of future Administrations to make international agreements,” Kerry said in a statement.
“Instead of building on unprecedented nonproliferation verification measures, this decision risks throwing them away and dragging the world back to the brink we faced a few years ago,” he added. “America should never have to outsource those stakes to any other country. This is not in America’s interests. We should all hope the world can preserve the nuclear agreement.”
Former US president Barack Obama made a rare public criticism of his successor Tuesday, describing Donald Trump’s decision to abandon the Iran nuclear deal as “misguided” and a “serious mistake.”
Former secretary of state John Kerry said the decision “puts Israel at greater risk.” “The reality is clear. The JCPOA is working,” Obama said in a statement, referring to the deal his administration brokered in 2015 by its acronym. “That is a view shared by our European allies, independent experts, and the current US secretary of defense.” “That is why today’s announcement is so misguided,” he added. “I believe that the decision to put the JCPOA at risk without any Iranian violation of the deal is a serious mistake.”
Obama also warned: “The consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to risks eroding America’s credibility, and puts us at odds with the world’s major powers.”
Last June, Trump withdrew the US from another landmark deal brokered by the Obama administration, the 2015 Paris Agreement, which dealt with climate change mitigation.
Obama said that without the nuclear deal, the US “could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East.”
He said the deal remains a model for what diplomacy can accomplish, including when it comes to North Korea.
There are few issues more important to the security of the United States than the potential spread of nuclear weapons, or the potential for even more destructive war in the Middle East. That’s why the United States negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the first place.
The reality is clear. The JCPOA is working – that is a view shared by our European allies, independent experts, and the current U.S. Secretary of Defense. The JCPOA is in America’s intere… See more
John Kerry, who was Obama’s secretary of state and a main architect of the pact, also slammed Trump’s announcement, saying it was contrary to US interests.
“Today’s announcement weakens our security, breaks America’s word, isolates us from our European allies, puts Israel at greater risk, empowers Iran’s hardliners, and reduces our global leverage to address Tehran’s misbehavior, while damaging the ability of future Administrations to make international agreements,” Kerry said in a statement.
“Instead of building on unprecedented nonproliferation verification measures, this decision risks throwing them away and dragging the world back to the brink we faced a few years ago,” he added. “America should never have to outsource those stakes to any other country. This is not in America’s interests. We should all hope the world can preserve the nuclear agreement.”
