President Donald Trump took time out of his G7 address on Tuesday to to slam the Obama administration’s 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, saying the deal would have ultimately enabled Tehran to obtain nuclear weapons.
Trump revisited his long-standing objections to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was negotiated under former President Barack Obama and implemented in 2015 before the US withdrew in 2018. “A deal that was going to give them [Iran], legally, a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, referring to the Obama agreement.
Trump also did not seem concerned about whether Iran would sign the deal or not, saying that Iran pulling out would lead to another bombing campaign: "We'll probably go back to bombing them until they honor it. It's amazing what bombs can do."
The comments come following Trump's peace deal with Iran, which both he and Vice President JD Vance say has been signed digitally and is to be signed later this week. The deal prevents Iran from developing or acquiring nuclear weapons under any circumstances. He said the new arrangement would close gaps he attributed to the earlier Obama agreement, including time-bound limitations under the JCPOA.
The Obama-era deal placed restrictions on Iran’s uranium enrichment levels and stockpile size and included international monitoring provisions overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Under the agreement, Iran was also technically prohibited from pursuing nuclear weapons. Trump though has repeatedly said that those safeguards were insufficient, especially on so-called “sunset clauses” that set expiration dates on certain restrictions. Those provisions were scheduled to phase out in the early 2030s.
During his remarks Tuesday, Trump contrasted the previous agreement with his administration’s current agreement, which would permanently bar Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and form the basis of a broader regional settlement.
He also said the new deal would be signed “shortly" and was reported to be set for June 19, in Switzerland later this week.
Trump has vowed to publicly release the full text of the agreement within days, as negotiations continue over its final wording. US officials involved in the talks have downplayed the significance of the document’s actual wording, arguing it does not fully reflect separate back-channel commitments made by Iran. An Israeli source said Israel requested access to the text of the agreement but was denied, reports CNN.
Trump revisited his long-standing objections to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was negotiated under former President Barack Obama and implemented in 2015 before the US withdrew in 2018. “A deal that was going to give them [Iran], legally, a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, referring to the Obama agreement.
Trump also did not seem concerned about whether Iran would sign the deal or not, saying that Iran pulling out would lead to another bombing campaign: "We'll probably go back to bombing them until they honor it. It's amazing what bombs can do."
Trump made similar comments at an earlier press conference, saying, "If they don't behave, we'll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head, cause they misbehaved for 47 years."
The comments come following Trump's peace deal with Iran, which both he and Vice President JD Vance say has been signed digitally and is to be signed later this week. The deal prevents Iran from developing or acquiring nuclear weapons under any circumstances. He said the new arrangement would close gaps he attributed to the earlier Obama agreement, including time-bound limitations under the JCPOA.
The Obama-era deal placed restrictions on Iran’s uranium enrichment levels and stockpile size and included international monitoring provisions overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Under the agreement, Iran was also technically prohibited from pursuing nuclear weapons. Trump though has repeatedly said that those safeguards were insufficient, especially on so-called “sunset clauses” that set expiration dates on certain restrictions. Those provisions were scheduled to phase out in the early 2030s.
During his remarks Tuesday, Trump contrasted the previous agreement with his administration’s current agreement, which would permanently bar Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and form the basis of a broader regional settlement.
He also said the new deal would be signed “shortly" and was reported to be set for June 19, in Switzerland later this week.
Trump has vowed to publicly release the full text of the agreement within days, as negotiations continue over its final wording. US officials involved in the talks have downplayed the significance of the document’s actual wording, arguing it does not fully reflect separate back-channel commitments made by Iran. An Israeli source said Israel requested access to the text of the agreement but was denied, reports CNN.
