US Congressman Warns Trump against Walking Away from JCPOA
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Democratic congressman warned US President Donald Trump against abandoning the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on Friday that it would be a "grave mistake" to walk away from the deal negotiated by the Obama administration, predicting it would allow Tehran to make strides on its nuclear program, The Hill reported.
The remark came after US President Donald Trump claimed Thursday that Iran is “not living up to the spirit of the agreement,” adding he considers the overall accord “terrible.”
“It shouldn’t have been signed,” Trump said in the White House’s East Room. “It shouldn’t have been negotiated the way that it was negotiated. And we are analyzing it very carefully, and we will have something to say about it in the not-too-distant future."
Trump has also ordered a full review of the Obama-era agreement, which he has repeatedly criticized as a failure of his predecessor.
In response, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov expressed hope that Washington would realize that the nuclear deal is viable after reviewing it.
“We took note of information from Washington that an additional analysis of agreements with Iran on its nuclear program is beginning there,” he said.
“We would like to hope that this analysis will confirm that this agreement is viable and useful for enhancing international peace and regional stability,” the Russian diplomat added.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) reached a conclusion on the JCPOA in July 2015 and started to implement it in January 2016.
