Donald Trump Attacks Obama-Era Iran Nuclear Deal, Says It Gave Iran a Nuclear Weapon

President Donald Trump defended the continued lack of a war-ending deal with Iran by attacking the Obama-era nuclear agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which he said was "tantamount to giving them a nuclear weapon."

“President Donald Trump on Friday defended the continued lack of a war-ending deal with Iran by once again trashing the prior nuclear agreement brokered by Barack Obama, his predecessor and longtime political foe”

CNBC

In an NBC News interview, Trump said of Iran that "They've dealt with very weak and ineffective leadership on behalf of the United States" and "allowed them to get away with murder," while also arguing that the JCPOA was "a horrible deal."

CNBC

Trump said the U.S. withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and did not renegotiate, and he told NBC, "It takes years to do these things."

CNBC reported that Ernest Moniz, the U.S. energy secretary when the 2015 was inked, said, "I find it very hard to say how we are in a better position" currently, and added that conditions would appear "far less favorable than they were a decade ago."

In an exclusive interview with NBC's Meet the Press, Trump said that if Washington and Tehran reach an agreement to end the confrontation, the United States will cooperate to collect and destroy stockpiled enriched uranium, with Trump saying, "We will provide the equipment and extract and destroy the uranium."

Trump warned that if negotiations fail, the U.S. would consider additional military options, adding, "If we do not reach an agreement, we will respond to them very hard and severely with military action."

Masrawy

VOA Farsi reported Trump said the U.S. closely monitors Iran's nuclear program with advanced space- and satellite-based systems, and he claimed, "We monitor all of these facilities."

He also said, "These cameras are in space and have amazing technology," while asserting that the U.S. wants a clause that would prohibit Iran from "buying, acquiring, or obtaining" a nuclear weapon as well.

Iran Global reported Trump said that under any agreement, Iran's frozen assets would not be released from the outset and no sanctions would be lifted in advance, while also saying the U.S. wants additional guarantees that Iran cannot evade the deal.

Reuters was cited in Iran Global's account of a draft resolution prepared by the United States ahead of the IAEA Board of Governors meeting, with Reuters saying the resolution asks Iran to provide precise information about its enriched uranium stockpiles and the bombed nuclear sites.

Trump also said the U.S. will obtain looted uranium stockpiles with Iran's cooperation or by force, and he warned, "We will do this with or without them. But we will not let them shoot at us."

In the same reporting, Iran Global quoted Trump saying, "first we will wipe them out with a very strong military action," as the five-day meeting of the Board of Governors begins tomorrow.