A general view of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, some 746 miles south of Tehran.
At a meeting of military leaders this week, President Donald Trump said that people around him were witnessing the “calm before the storm.”
When reporters asked him to clarify, Trump cryptically said “you’ll find out.”
And we may, as early as next week — when Trump is expected to announce that he will not certify the Iran nuclear deal again.
Jacqueline Shire is a former member of United Nations Panel of Experts on Iran. She says it’s important to understand that Trump failing to certify the 2015 Iran nuclear deal does not mean that the US is withdrawing from the deal.
“Certifying or not certifying — it sends a signal to the international community, but it doesn't change our relationship with the Iran deal itself,” says Shire.
Not certifying the deal will instead trigger a 60-day period during which Congress will need to decide whether to reimpose sanctions on Iran.
Shire says there’s room for improvement in the 2015 agreement, but “we all need to take a step back and understand that this agreement was never intended to solve all problems between Iran and the international community.”
She says the deal “contains and manages” Iran’s nuclear program with an unprecedented level of scrutiny and supervision.
“I think that moderates in Iran, moderates in Europe and moderates in the United States all want to see this agreement remain in place and thrive.”
You can listen to The World's full interview with Jacqueline Shire above.
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