Zarif to Trump: You Will Not Find a Better Agreement than the JCPOA

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, referenced the U.S.-North Korea negotiations in Vietnam in a tweet on Friday, March 1, addressing U.S. President Donald Trump, stating that he will never find a better agreement than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Zarif wrote on Twitter: "Now President Trump must understand that serious diplomacy cannot be achieved through flashy displays, photo ops, and sudden shifts in positions." The negotiations between Trump and Kim ended without an agreement: "We made progress, but it was not enough." Zarif added: "The JCPOA is the result of 10 years of confrontation and negotiation, plus two years, meaning thousands of hours of bargaining over each word of this 150-page agreement. You will never find a better agreement than that." Zarif's remarks refer to the two-day meeting between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam, which ended on Thursday without a documented agreement, and their planned "working lunch" was also canceled. Trump stated that the reason for the lack of an agreement in Hanoi was that the North Korean leader demanded the lifting of "all sanctions" in exchange for dismantling the facilities we wanted. Meanwhile, the North Korean Foreign Minister stated that Pyongyang only requested the lifting of five Security Council resolutions. Additionally, Sarah Sanders, the White House spokesperson, tweeted early Friday that President Obama did not agree to leave a bad deal with Iran. President Trump avoids making a mistake like (the agreement) with Iran, North Korea, or any other country. For Trump, the security of the American people is above any political matter. The U.S., Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany reached an agreement with Iran in 2015 in Vienna to resolve the Islamic Republic's nuclear crisis. Under the JCPOA, Iran accepted restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of nuclear sanctions against it. The Security Council also endorsed the JCPOA in a resolution and suspended its nuclear resolutions against Iran. Since the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump has been a staunch opponent of this agreement, describing it as "the worst deal possible." The U.S. withdrew from the JCPOA on May 8, citing "violations of the spirit of this agreement," ballistic missile activities, and Tehran's negative role in the Middle East. Following the U.S. exit from the JCPOA, Trump ordered the reinstatement of sanctions that had been suspended under the implementation of the JCPOA. The U.S. has not only exited this agreement but has also encouraged European countries that are members of this agreement to withdraw from it.