US withdrawal from Iran deal branded a ‘serious mistake’

US President Donald Trump signs a proclamation declaring his intention to withdraw from the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement at the White House on Tuesday.

US president Donald Trump defied international allies and announced America’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement on Tuesday, unravelling years of international diplomacy and plunging the wider Middle East region into uncertainty.

Speaking at the White House, Mr Trump announced that America would withdraw from the agreement, denouncing the nuclear deal struck by his predecessor Barack Obama and six other countries as “defective at its core”.

While allies had hoped that Mr Trump might embrace some form of incremental withdrawal, he instead announced that America would begin reinstating sanctions that were waived under the 2015 deal and impose new economic sanctions on Iran.

The US treasury department was on Tuesday night due to announce a “wind-down” period for companies affected by the current sanctions, ranging from 90 days to six months. But the impact of the US withdrawal was expected to be immediately felt on the global trading system as companies and oil markets absorb the news.

“The fact is this was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never ever been made. It didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will,” Mr Trump said as he announced the US withdrawal from the agreement, which aimed to restrict Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for the easing of sanctions on the Iranian economy.