Global Geopolitical Series: Iran says ‘all or nothing’ as fate of JCPOA hangs on Trump’s signature

As French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Washington on Monday to persuade President Trump on behalf of the European Union to maintain the status quo in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), better known as the Iran nuclear agreement by signing the waiver on Iran sanctions when deadline looms on May 12th, Iran stepped up the rhetoric saying U.S. departure from the deal or re-imposing the U.S. sanctions on Iran would lead to the deal’s doom.

As Macron described speaking to the Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace that currently there is no better plan or plan B to reign on Iran’s nuclear ambition, Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif tweeted, “President Macron is correct in saying there's no "Plan B" on JCPOA. It's either all or nothing. European leaders should encourage President Trump not just to stay in the nuclear deal, but more importantly to begin implementing his part of the bargain in good faith.”

President Trump has been a fierce critique of the JCPOA and in October he refused to certify Iran’s compliance with the agreement and in January, when he signed the sanctions waiver on Iran, it was informed that the President, who needs to sign the waiver every 120 days, is signing it for the last time, which gave the concerned parties a 120-day window to re-negotiate the deal or parts of it. All other partners to the agreement have urged President Trump to keep signing the waiver as Iran has threatened to exit the agreement if the United States re-imposes its sanction.

President Macron is relying on his close relationship with President Trump to convince him otherwise. However, Iran, which illegally and secretly sought to develop nuclear weapons and continued its efforts to enrich uranium in violation of legally-binding UN Security Council requirements, and retains the ability to position itself, several years hence, dangerously close to rapid weaponization is deeply distrusted by not only by President Trump but many lawmakers in the United States in both House of Congress who were denied a say by the Obama administration, which signed the agreement with Iran and five other world powers (Russia, China, United Kingdom, France, and Germany).