29 Mar 2024
Saturday 14 October 2017 - 09:34
Story Code : 279280

Kerry calls for other nations to stick to Iran deal

The Hill - Former Secretary of StateJohn Kerryslammed President Trump's Fridayannouncement that the Iran nuclear deal was not in the national security interests in the U.S., calling on other nations to stick to the multilateral agreement.

"I strongly hope that the other six signatories will prove to the world what responsible behavior is, and adhere to this agreement no matter what false accusations and contrived provocations are put forward by President Trump," Kerry, who played an integral role in brokering the deal in 2015, said in a statement.

"Our allies and our Congress must not act as the only adults left in the room with the power to protect our national interests. I served in the Senate for nearly 28-plus years. I can't imagine a more important moment than this one where cooler, wiser voices have had a bigger responsibility to put a policy back on track," he continued.

"That means rejecting the President's plan and the legislative maneuvers being contemplated that would unravel the agreement once and for all, leaving our allies to blame the United States, squandering our leadership and our leverage," he said.

Kerry's comments come hoursafter Trump announcedhe would not certify the multinational deal, but would not immediately exit it, either.

We will not continue down a path whose predictable conclusion is more violence, more terror and the very real threat of Irans nuclear breakout," Trump said, calling on Congress to approve changes to the accord.

Despite not departing from the deal, Democrats and European allies have condemned Trump's announcement.

The European Union's foreign policy chiefFederica Mogherini saidTrump didn't have the power to terminate the deal, according to areport by BBC News, andreportedly defended the deal saying it was "robust" and that there have been"no violations of any of the commitments in the agreement."

Former Vice PresidentJoe Bidenwarnedon Friday the president's statement would "isolate" the U.S. from its allies.

"Unilaterally putting the deal at risk does not isolate Iran," he said in astatement posted on Facebook. "It isolates us."

"This decision will cost us leverage. It will weaken our unity with our allies. It will damage our credibility," he added.
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