9 May 2018

Trump pulls US from 'rotten' Iran nuclear deal

From Morning Report, 7:11 am on 9 May 2018

Describing it as "defective at its core" Donald Trump has pulled the United States out of the Iran Nuclear Deal. In 2015, Western nations agreed to cut economic sanctions on Iran, in exchange for it stalling its nuclear weapons programme. Mr Trump says the "rotten and decaying deal" is based on a lie and Iran remains one of the world's leading supporters of terrorism. International reaction to the news is flooding in. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Mr Trump took a brave and correct decision to cancel the nuclear deal with Iran, which was "a recipe for disaster, disaster for our region, a disaster for the peace of the world." But the top European Union diplomat, Federica Mogehrini, has called on the rest of the international community to stick with the deal. She says the deal can and will be preserved. French President Emmanuel Macron says he's keen to work on a broader agreement with Iran covering its nuclear programem and stability in the Middle East. Iran itself has also responded - President Hassan Rouhani has condemned the decision, saying it's been proven time and time again that the US will never stick to its international commitments. He says the withdrawal is illegal and illegitimate. Washington DC correspondent Simon Marks discusses the details with Susie Ferguson.