Such an abrupt approach carries risks: It could badly harm America’s relations with other countries involved in the agreement, which took years to negotiate. Those countries, which include Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France, also could refuse to reimpose their own sanctions on Iran — European Union officials already have stressed to Trump their support for keeping the deal. And, of course, Iranian officials, who have urged Trump to honor the deal, would have an excuse to restart their nuclear program and eventually build a bomb.
“You don’t want all the blame for the deal falling apart to land on the U.S.,” argued David Ibsen, president of United Against Nuclear Iran, a group that has spent months trying to persuade companies around the world not to invest in Iran despite the lifting of sanctions.
Ibsen and others said Trump can still save face on Iran by making it clear he is serious about enforcing the nuclear deal while also cracking down on Tehran’s nefarious activities.
For instance, since the nuclear agreement took effect almost a year ago, Iran has twice exceeded the limits on its heavy water stockpile, but the Obama administration has downplayed the incidents.
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