Russia and China Call for the U.S. to Remain in the Iran Nuclear Agreement

On Monday, October 9, Russia warned that the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement would have negative consequences, while China expressed hope that Washington would remain committed to the deal despite Donald Trump's criticisms. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, stated, "President (Vladimir) Putin has repeatedly emphasized the importance of agreements regarding Iran's nuclear issue. There is no doubt that the withdrawal of any country from this agreement, especially a country like the United States, will definitely have negative consequences." China also expressed hope on Monday that the Iran nuclear agreement would remain in place and play a significant role in establishing peace. Hua Chunying, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said the Iran nuclear agreement is a good example of how issues can be resolved peacefully through negotiation. According to Reuters, she added that this agreement has played a positive and important role in nuclear non-proliferation and supports peace and stability in the Middle East. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson expressed hope that the implementation of the "Comprehensive Nuclear Agreement with Iran" would continue in a "promising" manner. Iran and the P5+1 group, which includes the U.S., Russia, China, France, and Britain along with Germany, reached a final agreement regarding Tehran's nuclear program in July 2015, under which Iran halted many of its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. China has extensive diplomatic and economic relations with Iran, and these relations have further developed following the implementation of the aforementioned agreement. However, the fate of this agreement has been shrouded in uncertainty since Donald Trump took office in January this year, during which he stated that it was "the worst deal he has ever seen." An unnamed U.S. official recently said that the U.S. president is expected to adopt a broader, more confrontational strategy regarding Iran. The U.S. government is expected to announce on October 15, when it presents its report to Congress, that Tehran has not complied with its nuclear agreement with the six world powers. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, also said on October 1 that he suspects the U.S. president will likely not confirm Iran's compliance with the nuclear agreement in his report. However, Bloomberg reported, citing several U.S. officials, that Donald Trump is likely to maintain the nuclear agreement in his new strategy regarding Iran but will demand stricter oversight of Iran's compliance with this agreement. In his speech on September 19 at the United Nations General Assembly, Donald Trump referred to this agreement as "a disgrace" for the United States and then announced that he had made his decision regarding this agreement, although he did not provide details. He has repeatedly accused Iran of violating the "spirit of the JCPOA" and disrupting peace and stability in the Middle East. If the Trump administration does not confirm Iran's compliance with the JCPOA in its new report, the U.S. Congress will have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose the sanctions that were lifted against Iran under the JCPOA.