Donald Trump is 'evaluating the benefits of the JCPOA for U.S. security'

The Trump administration announced on Tuesday, April 29, that several entities within the government, under the direction of the President, are assessing whether reducing sanctions on Iran due to the nuclear agreement is in the best interest of U.S. security. According to Reuters, Rex Tillerson, the U.S. Secretary of State, has also written a letter to Paul Ryan, the senior Republican representative in the House of Representatives, regarding this matter. In the letter, Tillerson noted that Iran has complied with the provisions of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) so far, but concerns about Iran's role as a 'state sponsor of terrorism' remain. Under the terms of the JCPOA, the U.S. State Department must report to Congress every 90 days on Iran's compliance with the agreement, and Tuesday's report is the first of its kind during Donald Trump's administration. Rex Tillerson stated in a press release that 'the U.S. State Department confirmed today in contact with Paul Ryan that Iran has adhered to its commitments under the JCPOA as of April 18 [April 29].' Tillerson added that 'Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has led a review of the JCPOA involving various government agencies. The goal of this review is to assess whether the suspension of sanctions against Iran following the signing of the JCPOA is vital for U.S. national security interests or not.' Tillerson did not specify the timeline for the conclusion of this review, but in his letter to Paul Ryan, he wrote that the Trump administration seeks to work with Congress on this issue. During his election campaign, Donald Trump called the nuclear agreement with Iran 'the worst deal ever made' and questioned the benefits of this agreement for U.S. national interests. Recently, the Iranian Foreign Ministry, in its fifth report on the implementation of the Vienna nuclear agreement, stated that the positions of Trump administration officials have 'raised doubts about the seriousness' of the U.S. 'in fully and sincerely fulfilling its commitments' under this agreement. Western powers have accused Iran of 'supporting terrorism' and imposed sanctions on Iran to prevent the militarization of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. The Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently denied these accusations and, in turn, accuses global powers of 'supporting terrorism.' In this context, the U.S. Treasury Secretary announced that non-nuclear sanctions against Iran will increase, expressing doubts about the Iranian Foreign Ministry's concerns regarding the 'seriousness' of the U.S. in fully implementing the JCPOA. The Chairman of the House Committee on the JCPOA described it as a 'defective inventory.'