US media cautious over Trump’s Iran decision

By Kasim Ileri

WASHINGTON

The American press expressed concern Tuesday over President Donald Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of the Iranian nuclear deal, warning of repercussions.

The Washington Post led with the headline “Trump announces plans to pull out of Iran nuclear deal despite pleas from European leaders”.

The newspaper said that as part of the pullout, “a decision to immediately reinstate all nuclear-related sanctions would be the most extreme step Trump could take now”.

The New York Times said the long-anticipated announcement on Iran’s nuclear deal “plunges America’s relations with its European allies into deep uncertainty” and “raises the prospect of increasing tensions with Russia and China”.

The Wall Street Journal said Trump had dismantled his predecessor’s most prominent foreign policy initiative and went against the wishes of some of America’s closest allies.

Saying that Trump would impose “the highest level of economic sanctions” on Iran, the journal noted that sanctions “snapped immediately back into effect”.

Even Fox News, with its pro-Republican and pro-Trump bias, observed that “Trump for months had left open whether he would move to scrap the pact, and his apparent decision to re-impose sanctions has rattled European allies”.

The liberal NBC News said the decision has “raised fears that Tehran might respond by resuming its frozen weapons program”.

“The move also raises two important questions for the Trump administration and the international community: Whether Iran will respond by resuming its quest for nuclear weapons -- and whether reneging on the Iran pact might affect North Korea's willingness to cut a denuclearization deal of its own with the president.”

The Los Angeles Times called the decision “more severe than diplomats had expected and sent shock waves around the globe”.

They said it is not clear how the other countries following the deal will negotiate the web of U.S. sanctions.

Ignoring pressure from the U.S.'s closest European allies, Trump on Tuesday pulled the U.S. out of the landmark nuclear agreement that world powers struck in 2015 with Iran.

Trump opted not to extend sanctions relief on Iran ahead of a May 12 deadline, vowing instead to re-impose nuclear-related economic penalties.

The 2015 nuclear agreement placed unprecedented restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in relief from international sanctions, but Trump has consistently railed against it since he began his bid for America's highest office, repeatedly calling it the "worst deal" he has ever seen.

All of the U.S.'s negotiating partners -- the UK, France, Germany, Russia, China and the EU -- agree that maintaining the accord is the best way to reign in Iran's nuclear program.

*Kubra Chohan contributed to this story from Ankara