Donald Trump said that “Iran was laughing at us” after the deal (referring to JCPOA) while continuing its attempt to build a nuclear weapon.
In his address to the nation, US President Donald Trump took a jibe at former US President Barack Obama, saying, “He made a mistake with Iran.” Without directly mentioning the Iran nuclear deal — the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed during the Obama administration — Trump said it was a mistake and that he was “honoured to correct it” during his first term as President.
Trump added that “Iran was laughing at us” after the deal, referring to the JCPOA, while continuing its attempts to build a nuclear weapon. “I terminated Barack Hussein Obama’s Iran nuclear deal-a disaster. Obama gave them $1.7 billion in cash… in an attempt to buy their respect and loyalty, but it didn’t work. They laughed at our president and went on with their mission to have a nuclear bomb.”
He further said, “His (Obama’s) Iran deal would have led to a colossal arsenal of massive nuclear weapons for Iran. They would have had them years ago, and they would have used them. It would have been a different world. There would have been no Middle East and no Israel right now, in my opinion, and the opinion of a lot of great experts.”
To recall, the JCPOA was signed in 2015 by Iran and several world powers, including the United States. The deal placed significant restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. However, Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018, claiming it failed to curb Iran’s missile programme. He also claimed that Iran began ignoring limitations on its nuclear programme a year later.
In his address on Thursday (Indian time), Trump said, “From the very first day I announced my campaign, I vowed that I would never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. This fanatical regime has been chanting ‘Death to America’ for 47 years — and it should have been handled long before I arrived in office.”
