Topic summary
United States withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal
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On 8 May 2018, the United States under the first Trump administration announced its withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The JCPOA is an agreement on Iran's nuclear program reached in July 2015 by Iran and the P5+1 or the E3+3 and the European Union.
In a joint statement responding to the U.S. withdrawal, the leaders of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom said that the United Nations Security Council resolution endorsing the nuclear deal remained the "binding international legal framework for the resolution of the dispute". Various countries, international organizations, and U.S. scholars have expressed regret about or criticized the withdrawal, while U.S. conservatives, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and their allies have supported it. The withdrawal caused concern in Iran due to its impact on the economy.
On 17 May 2018, the European Commission announced its intention to implement the blocking statute of 1996 to declare U.S. sanctions against Iran illegal in Europe and ban European citizens and companies from complying with them. The commission also instructed the European Investment Bank to facilitate European companies' investment in Iran.
The withdrawal led Iran to take actions contrary to the deal, including stockpiling roughly 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium. Amid negotiations on a potential nuclear deal, Israel and the United States under the second Trump administration launched the 2026 Iran war, citing the Iranian nuclear threat as a rationale.