WASHINGTON – Donald Trump on Friday avoided upending the nuclear deal withIran that he has repeatedly disparaged, agreeing to waive key sanctions theUS lifted as part of the deal.But Trump warned Friday in a statement previewed by senior administrationofficials that that the waiver — which must be issued every 120 days tokeep the sanctions from kicking back in — will be the last he issues. Tokeep the US in the nuclear agreement in the future, senior administrationofficials said Trump will pressure European partners to agree to impose newconditions on Iranian behavior.
Trump also slapped new sanctions on 14 individuals and entities that commithuman rights abuses or support the country’s ballistic missile programs,which are outside the scope of the nuclear deal. Many of those sanctions —including one targeted at the head of Iran’s judiciary — were in responseto the Iranian government’s crackdown of peaceful protests that have sweptthe country in recent weeks.
That threat to effectively pull the US from the deal if his latest demandsare not met leaves the nuclear deal in its most precarious position yetsince the landmark agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions was brokeredbetween the US, five other world powers and Iran in July 2015.
Trump agreed to waive the sanctions at the urging of his top nationalsecurity and foreign policy advisers, including Secretary of State RexTillerson and national security adviser H.R. McMaster, who warned Trumpthat re-imposing the sanctions would likely be viewed by Iran and Europeanallies as the US breaking its commitments under the deal, officialsfamiliar with the matter said.
US allies, including France’s President Emmanuel Macron who spoke withTrump on Thursday, also urged the US President to stick with the nucleardeal.
But he only agreed to waive the sanctions after lawmakers also assured himthey are making progress on delivering a legislative fix that willstrengthen the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act.
The decision Friday is the second time Trump has agreed to issue thesanctions waiver and the latest instance in which Trump has declined toseize an opportunity to break up the Iran deal — disappointing some of thehardline opponents of the agreement who hoped Trump would follow through onhis campaign promise to tear up the deal.
Trump in October declined to certify Iran’s compliance with the deal,accusing it of committing “multiple violations of the agreement,” butstopped short of calling on Congress to re-impose the sanctions the USlifted under the terms of the agreement with Iran. Congress did not seek tore-impose those sanctions after Trump refused to certify Iran’s compliancewith the deal — a determination the President must make every 90 days.