Everything That's Happened Since Trump Killed the Iran Deal
President Trump concluded his announcement that the United States will withdraw from the Iran deal with a message of peace: "Great things can happen for the peace and stability that we all want in the Middle East," he said. "There has been enough suffering, death, and destruction. Let it end now."
The world is apparently just going to have to trust Trump's foresight on this one, because "peaceful" isn't a word many people would use to describe what has transpired in the two days since the decision. Iran's ayatollah has hinted he may ramp up the nation's nuclear program, Saudi Arabia has said they're ready for an arms race, and an exchange of airstrikes between Iran and Israel has reportedly left as many as 23 people dead in Syria. In the United States, concern has mounted that military action might be necessary to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, and experts are fearing a repeat of the 2003 Iraq invasion.
Here's the rest of what has taken place over the past 48 hours since Trump scrapped the deal:
1. Confusion in the United States
Outside of satisfying a grudge against President Obama, it's been hard to comprehend Trump's rationale for pulling out of the deal. France, Germany, the United Kingdom, China and Russia all advised Trump to remain in the agreement, as did a bipartisan coalition of over 100 national security veterans, a group of more than 90 atomic scientists and scores of other experts. By opting to tear up the deal rather than work to amend it, Trump has destabilized the Middle East, further distanced himself from world powers and opened the door for Iran to develop new nuclear weapons.
After the announcement was made, several prominent figures from both parties came out in opposition, including Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Condoleezza Rice, Jeff Flake, Jimmy Carter and John Kasich, among others. (Don't worry, though – Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham still stand with the president.)
Link to tweet
"In a democracy, there will always be changes in policies and priorities from one Administration to the next," Obama wrote of the decision. "But 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."
The Trump administration has been short on cogent points in explaining the president's decision. Following the announcement, two state department officials gave a press briefing in which they attempted to rationalize pulling out of the agreement, but it quickly went off the rails once reporters were allowed to ask questions. "We think we're going to be in a safer place," was about all the officials could offer.
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