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WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - President Donald Trump on Tuesday (May 8) pulled the United States out of an international nuclear deal with Iran, raising the risk of conflict in the Middle East, upsetting European allies and casting uncertainty over global oil supplies.
Trump said in a televised address from the White House that he would reimpose US economic sanctions on Iran to undermine “a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made” .
The 2015 agreement, worked out by the United States, five other world powers and Iran, lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for Teheran limiting its nuclear programme. The pact was designed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.
But Trump complains that the accord, the signature foreign policy achievement of his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, does not address Iran’s ballistic missile programme, its nuclear activities beyond 2025 or its role in conflicts in Yemen and Syria.
Iran has extended its political and military influence in the Middle East in recent years, deeply worrying US allies Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Underscoring the tension in the region, the Israeli military went on high alert on Tuesday for a possible flare-up with neighbouring Syria, which is allied to Iran.
An Israeli air strike targeted a Syrian army position south of Damascus on Tuesday but caused no casualties, a commander in the regional alliance supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told Reuters.
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/...rump-says-us-pulling-out-of-iran-nuclear-deal
