Iran Nuke Deal Enriched Iranian Regime, Enabled Its Malign Behaviour: White House

Washington, May 8 (PTI) The White House today said the Iran nuclear deal had enriched the Iranian regime and enabled its malign behaviour, while at best delaying its ability to pursue atomic weapons and allowing it to preserve nuclear research and development.

President Donald Trump today pulled the US out of the 2015 landmark nuclear deal with Iran, an Obama-era accord which he has repeatedly criticised as "disastrous".

In his executive order, Trump directed his administration to immediately begin the process of re-imposing sanctions related to the Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA.

The re-imposed sanctions will target critical sectors of Iran's economy, such as its energy, petrochemical, and financial sectors.

“Those doing business in Iran will be provided a period of time to allow them to wind down operations in or business involving Iran,” the White House said adding that those who fail to wind down such activities with Iran by the end of the period will risk severe consequences.

The US withdrawal from the JCPOA will pressure the Iranian regime to alter its course of malign activities and ensure that Iranian bad acts are no longer rewarded. As a result, both Iran and its regional proxies will be put on notice. Importantly, this step will help ensure global funds stop flowing towards illicit terrorist and nuclear activities, the White House said.

Referring to the recent intelligence information released by Israel, the White House said it provides compelling details about Iran's past secret efforts to develop nuclear weapons, which it lied about for years. The intelligence further demonstrates that the Iranian regime did not come clean about its nuclear weapons activity, and that it entered the JCPOA in bad faith, it said.

Alleging that the JCPOA failed to deal with the threat of Iran's missile program and did not include a strong enough mechanism for inspections and verification, it said the deal foolishly gave the Iranian regime a windfall of cash and access to the international financial system for trade and investment.

“Instead of using the money from the JCPOA to support the Iranian people at home, the regime has instead funded a military buildup and continues to fund its terrorist proxies, such as Hezbollah and Hamas,” the White House alleged.

“Iran violated the laws and regulations of European countries to counterfeit the currency of its neighbour, Yemen, to support the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force's destabilising activities,” it added.

Noting that Trump is committed to ensuring Iran has no possible path to a nuclear weapon and is addressing the threats posed by the regime's malign activities, the White House said that the administration will work to assemble a broad coalition of nations to deny Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon and to counter the totality of the regime's malign activities.

“Nations must work together to halt the Iranian regime's destabilising drive for regional hegemony. In Syria, the Iranian regime supports the Bashar Assad regime and is complicit in Assad's atrocities against the Syrian people. In Yemen, the regime has escalated the conflict and used the Houthis as a proxy to attack other nations,” it said.

“In Iraq, Iran's IRGC sponsors Shia militant groups and terrorists. In Lebanon, the Iranian regime enables Hezbollah to play a highly destabilising role and to build an arsenal of weapons that threatens the region,” the White House alleged.

The administration's actions are directed against the malign behaviour of the Iranian regime, not against the Iranian people, who are the regime's longest-suffering victims.

The White House said Trump is making clear that, in addition to never developing a nuclear weapon, the Iranian regime must never have an ICBM, cease developing any nuclear-capable missiles, and stop proliferating ballistic missiles to others, cease its support for terrorists, extremists, and regional proxies, such as Hezbollah, Hamas, the Taliban, and al-Qaeda and end its publicly declared quest to destroy Israel.

It said Trump has also asked Iran to stop its threats to freedom of navigation, especially in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, cease escalating the Yemen conflict and destabilising the region by proliferating weapons to the Houthis, end its cyber-attacks against the US and its allies, including Israel, stop its human rights abuses, shown most recently in the regime's crackdown against widespread protests by Iranian citizens and stop its unjust detention of foreigners, including US citizens.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)