28 Mar 2024
Saturday 6 January 2018 - 16:10
Story Code : 288952

Trump will likely abandon the nuclear deal with Iran - Analyst



Sputnik News- Washingtons commitment to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal has been thrown into question again, after the imposition of new US sanctions on Iranian companies, and an op-ed by Mike Pence. Sputnik spoke with Middle East political analyst Catherine Shakdam about how likely it is that Trump might abandon the deal, and what the ramifications could look like.




Sputnik:So, is the administration likely toexit the deal, or is this justblusteronthe part ofthe president, and if so, what could the consequences forthe international community look like?

Catherine Shakdam:I think it is very likely, if you look atthe language coming outof Washington lately and the constant criticism that President Trump has levelled againstIran, its system ofgovernance and the way that everything is being conducted there including its foreign policies I think that it is extremely likely that he will abandon the deal.

The consequences I think would be dire inthe sense that we tend toforget that this nuclear deal withIranis not Washington-made, it involves other parties and other Western capitals, which include the UK, Paris, and ofcourse Russia and China. So, he cannot just dismiss an entire international agreement onthe basis that Washington has an issue withit or inparticular Mr Trump. So I think its going tobe very difficult forthe US toposition itself withinthe international community and still continue torenege onthe deals that have been brokered withother parties and then dismissing them offthe bat withouta care inthe world. I think it could isolate Washington, because legally its going toput its partners ina difficult position when it comes totheir relationship withIran. But again, I dont think Mr Trump cares very much.

Sputnik:Over the pastweek we have ofcourse seen unrest inIraninthe form ofpretty widespread protests. Some have said that its likely President Trump will seize uponthis asan opportunity torally againstthe Iranian government and pull outof the nuclear deal, is that atall likely?

Catherine Shakdam:Absolutely. First ofall I think theres been a very hypocritical way oflooking attheseprotestsinIran, and Im not saying that everything is rosy inthe Islamic Republic, butthat being said you cannot just suddenly use certain protests and the violence weve seen bycertain demonstrators, basically breaking the law inIran, and use this asa way tosomehow level accusations ofhuman rights abuses. Every country has a certain set oflaws and demonstrations need tobe done withinin a certain way. We saw, forexample, inthe US withthe Occupy Wall Street movement where crackdown was actually quite severe and some people argued there were human rights violations there. So, I think its very hypocritical forDonald Trump tolevel any formal accusation againstIran and touse this asa political scoring point board totry tojustify his position towardIran.

The views and opinions expressed byCatherine Shakdam are those ofthe analyst and do not necessarily reflect those ofSputnik.

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