Carper Statement on Trump’s Decision to End U.S. Compliance with the Iran Nuclear Deal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) released the following statement regarding President Trump’s decision to end the United States’ compliance with the Iran nuclear deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA):

“I often say that real leaders don’t build themselves up by tearing other people down. From the Trans-Pacific Partnership to the Paris Agreement and now the Iran nuclear deal, President Trump seems to be solely driven by his desire to tear down good policies simply because they are President Obama’s achievements.

“Yet again, our self-proclaimed ‘dealmaker’ president is irrationally walking away from a carefully crafted international deal with absolutely no alternative deal in place. President Trump’s irresponsible and shortsighted decision today ultimately increases the odds of armed conflict with Iran, and could needlessly provoke anuclear arms race in the region.

“President Trump’s dangerous obsession with dismantling President Obama’s legacy, rather than building on the progress we’ve made, puts our national security at risk. It also puts what could be a historic agreement with a far more volatile country like North Korea even further out of reach. If the United States cannot be trusted to uphold its commitment to our allies – despite the fact that, by all accounts, Iran has upheld its end of the nuclear deal – there is no reason to believe that other countries, let alone nuclear armed ones like North Korea, will be willing to negotiate with us in good faith. President Trump’s action today has set back future diplomatic efforts by ensuring that the United States’ word is worth far less.   

“Thomas Friedman has described the Trump doctrine as, ‘Obama built it. I broke it. You fix it.’ It is clear that analysis still holds true and that, in the short term, President Trump is willing to sacrifice our standing in the world for political gain. However, I am hopeful that, despite the damage President Trump seems determined to inflict, this carefully crafted agreement will ultimately withstand. That requires Iran and our allies to remain committed to this agreement now so that the United States may re-enter it when cooler, more rational heads prevail.”