French president Emmanuel Macron criticized President Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would be pulling out of the Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran Tuesday, saying that France and other European nations “regret” Trump’s decision.
Trump announced Tuesday afternoon that the U.S. would nix the nuke deal, which was enacted back in 2015. The multi-nation deal, which the U.S. entered via a presidential order by former President Barack Obama rather than through a treaty ratified by Congress, rolled back international sanctions on Iran in exchange for the country dramatically scaling back its nuclear program. The deal also required ongoing inspections of Iran's nuclear program.
A longtime vocal critic of the Iran nuke deal, Trump on Tuesday slammed the arrangement as weak and accused Iran of lying about their ongoing nuclear program and not making good on their end of the bargain. The announcement comes less than a week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli spies had obtained tens of thousands of Iranian documents he says prove the Iranian regime has been lying about the extent and ambitions of its nuclear program.
While the Israeli prime minister praised Trump’s announcement Tuesday, French president Macron criticized the move, tweeting:
France, Germany, and the UK regret the U.S. decision to leave the JCPOA. The nuclear non-proliferation regime is at stake.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 8, 2018
We will work collectively on a broader framework, covering nuclear activity, the post-2025 period, ballistic activity, and stability in the Middle-East, notably Syria, Yemen, and Iraq.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 8, 2018