President Donald Trump’s Iran policy has been rooted in the idea that being tougher on Tehran would yield better results and perhaps even a new nuclear deal to replace the Obama administration pact that he pulled the U. S. out of a year ago Wednesday.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s Iran policy has been rooted in the idea that being tougher on Tehran would yield better results and perhaps even a new nuclear deal to replace the Obama administration pact that he pulled the U. S. out of a year ago Wednesday.
That strategy is now being put to the test as tension escalates between Washington and Tehran, even as both sides appear willing to negotiate an end to the standoff.
Iran threatened to enrich its uranium stockpile closer to weapons-grade levels in 60 days if world powers fail to negotiate new terms for the 2015 nuclear deal. It follows the Trump administration’s « maximum pressure » campaign of diplomatic and economic measures that have exacted a punishing toll on the Islamic Republic.
The effort has been a success in the view of the president and senior officials of his administration.
« Because of our action, the Iranian regime is struggling to fund its campaign of violent terror, as its economy heads into an unprecedented depression, government revenue dries up, and inflation spirals out of control, » Trump said Wednesday as he announced yet another round of sanctions, this time targeting the country’s metals industry.
The test is whether Iran will return to the bargaining table and agree to the new terms set by the Trump administration. The stakes couldn’t be higher, as shown by the U. S. decision over the weekend to rush an aircraft carrier group and other military assets to the Middle East to confront an unspecified Iranian threat.
Democrats used Iran’s announcement as an opportunity to criticize Trump for withdrawing from the deal. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., called it a sign of « blind, meandering, escalatory » foreign policy.
« Iran’s moves to restart their nuclear program are a direct consequence of the Trump administration withdrawing from the Iran deal, » said Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Despite Iran’s announced deadline to pull out of the remainder of the nuclear deal, there have been signs that Tehran is willing to talk.
