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Response to Trump's Decision to Exit Iran Deal Falls Along Partisan Lines

Donald Trump
Getty Images
May 8, 2018

The response to the Trump administration's decision to exit the Iran nuclear deal, considered the signature foreign policy achievement of the Obama administration, fell largely along conventional political lines Tuesday.

The announcement triggered strong condemnation from Democrats, with many taking to Twitter to make their frustration known.

Sen Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), who many have tipped as a potential challenger to Trump in 2020, said the decision would diminish America's "credibility" abroad and empower "Iranian hardliners."

"The Obama Administration negotiated a landmark agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. @realDonaldTrump’s decision to withdraw from the deal breaks our word, hurts our credibility with our allies, empowers Iranian hardliners, and doesn’t make us any safer," Warren tweeted.

Warren's sentiment was echoed by many of her Democratic colleagues in Congress.

The strongest rebuke, however, came from erstwhile members of the Obama administration, especially those who had played a central role in negotiating the original agreement back in 2015.

Samantha Power, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 2013 - 2017, said Trump has "demolished American's credibility" and has "isolated the US & rallied the world around Iran."

Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security advisor from 2009 - 2017, echoed Power's sentiment, saying "Trump's decision is devastating to U.S. credibility globally."

Former Secretary of State John Kerry claimed Trump's decision to scrap U.S. participation in the accord reduced the U.S.'s "global leverage to address Tehran's misbehavior." Kerry recently came under fire for possibly violating the Logan Act by engaging in covert talks with Iranian and European leaders in an attempt to preserve the agreement.

Obama himself released a statement in which he said, "The reality is clear. The JCPOA is working ... I believe that the decision to put the JCPOA at risk without any Iranian violation of the deal is a serious mistake."

Many Republicans, on the other hand, praised the president's decision to withdraw from the accord and reimpose sanctions on Iran.

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