Trump: I Don't Think Iran is Committed to the Spirit of the Nuclear Agreement

The President of the United States reiterated in an interview with reporters that, in his view, Iran is not committed to the 'spirit' of the nuclear agreement. Donald Trump also criticized the two-year-old deal between Iran, the U.S., and five global powers once again. On August 10, during his working vacation at his resort in New Jersey, he told reporters, 'I don't think they are committed to the spirit of the [nuclear] agreement.' Trump added, 'I personally believe they are not acting in accordance with [the agreement]. But we have time, and we will see.' He stated, 'I think you will see that if they do not act in accordance [with the agreement], there are very severe things awaiting them.' Since the nuclear agreement was reached during Barack Obama's administration, the U.S. President must submit a report to Congress every 90 days confirming Tehran's compliance. The last report was submitted at the end of July, just before the deadline. At that time, the U.S. government announced it would confirm Iran's compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), but also noted that Tehran had acted contrary to the 'spirit' of the agreement. Trump has been a staunch critic of the negotiations and the agreement between Tehran, the Obama administration, and five other global powers. During his presidential campaign, he promised to abandon it if he won the election. After Trump's victory, U.S. officials did not emphasize a unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear agreement but insisted on reviewing it. One day before the U.S. President's latest remarks, Reuters reported, citing a U.S. official, that Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, is set to visit Vienna, the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to meet with inspectors and discuss Iran's nuclear activities. The U.S. official told Reuters, 'Ms. Haley has emphasized her and the government's concerns regarding Iran's illegal missile tests and other harmful activities.' Missile tests are among the issues that U.S. officials and three European countries involved in the nuclear talks with Iran—Germany, France, and the UK—are calling for a halt to. They argue that these actions are inconsistent with the agreement reached between Tehran and the six global powers. In UN Security Council Resolution 2231, issued after the nuclear agreement was reached to endorse it at the UN, Iran was asked to refrain from developing ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads for eight years. However, Iran claims that missile tests are not in violation of the nuclear agreement as it is not seeking to build nuclear weapons and the tested missiles were not intended to carry nuclear warheads. On the other hand, the Iranian government and other senior officials have accused the United States in recent weeks of violating the 'spirit' of the nuclear agreement. Hassan Rouhani, last week during a meeting with Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, in Tehran, described the new U.S. sanctions as 'destructive' for the nuclear agreement. Mohammad Javad Zarif, the foreign minister, also accused Washington of intending to 'destroy the JCPOA at Iran's expense.' In the latest assessment provided by Catherine Ray, spokesperson for the EU's foreign policy chief, it was stated that all parties to the nuclear agreement have so far adhered to their commitments.