In response to President Donald Trump's decertification of the Iran nuclear accord Friday, a coalition of grassroots organizations representing tens of millions of Americans slammed the White House's "reckless" decision to undermine an extremely successful and broadly popular diplomatic effort.
"If the accord continues to unravel, the U.S. and Iran will be back on the path to war." —Trita Parsi, National Iranian American Council"Let us be clear: Trump's decertification decision has no basis in reality, is without justification, and flies in the face of eight International Atomic Energy Agency compliance reports and expert opinion, including that of Trump's own national security team," the coalition—which includes Win Without War, Peace Action, MoveOn.org, and Indivisible—noted in a joint statement on Friday. "Trump's move will not only grievously undermine America's role in the world and its ability to conduct diplomacy writ large—and particularly with North Korea—but it could also leave Iran's nuclear program unconstrained, thereby setting the stage for further military conflict."
"Congress will now decide whether to reimpose sanctions on Iran that were lifted as part of the nuclear agreement," the coalition concluded. "Make no mistake: a vote to reimpose these sanctions is a vote to kill the JCPOA, and ultimately, a vote for war."
While Trump's announcement on Friday does not signify immediate changes to the nature of the nuclear agreement, commentators were quick to note that Trump is setting the stage for future sabotage of the deal by kicking the issue to the Republican-controlled Congress.
Analysts were also quick to note that the alternative path the Trump administration has suggested—which is summarized in a series of White House talking points that leaked ahead of the president's speech—more closely resembles a "cut-and-paste job from a poorly-written Wikipedia entry" than an actual strategy.
In a statement released ahead of Trump's speech Friday, Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council, argued that no matter what "fancy words are used to describe the process" that follows the president's decertification of the accord, "in reality it is nothing short of the U.S. reneging on its word."
"This opens the door for Iran to respond in kind by also threatening to renege on its commitments lest the U.S. gives it additional concessions. This is a recipe for disaster," Parsi concluded. "If the accord continues to unravel, the U.S. and Iran will be back on the path to war."
