News / Interviews

Trump unable to scrap Iran-P5+1 nuclear deal: Pundit

Friday, 11 November 2016 7:13 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 11 November 2016 7:39 AM ]

US President-elect Donald Trump leaves a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on November 10, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

US Republican president-elect Donald Trump promised in his election campaign that he would tear up a nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 group dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Press TV has interviewed two political experts on that issue.

Frank Emspak, a radio producer and political commentator from Madison, said on Thursday night that Trump would not be able to scrap the JCPOA because the US president-elect is not the only one who decides on the deal.

He said the Europeans and Russia are the main obstacle in his way to nullify the multilateral agreement.

“I think that’s not so easy to tear up a treaty depending on all the legalities and the fact that it is multilateral. I don’t think he would act unilaterally in doing this,” Emspak said.

Such an action against an internationally-recognized deal, he said, would really “raise major issues with our European allies,” some of which are signatories to the accord.

Trump has said he wants to cooperate with Russia to deal with the Daesh problem and given that Moscow is an ally of Tehran in fighting Daesh, tearing up the JCPOA would be contradicting attempts for cooperation with Russia, the analyst argued.

Michael Lane, president of the American Institute for Foreign Policy from Washington, pointed to Trump’s promise to renounce the nuclear deal.

"It’s not clear he will actually do that. He may do it, but at the same time, he will keep all of the provisions of the nuclear deal in place, while ongoing talks and while a relationship with the government of Iran is established,” he said.

“Donald Trump is very, very big on having existing relationships that he can leverage with world leaders, but at the end he’s going to be less patient than [current US President] Barack Obama,” Lane added.

The JCPOA, which took effect in January, ended nuclear-related sanctions against Iran in exchange for restrictions on the country's nuclear program. However, Iran complains that the United States has not complied with its commitments under the accord.

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