WH Focusing Blame on ‘Reckless’ Trump Ahead Of Iran Nuke Deal Decision

In recent days, both State Department spokesperson Ned Price and White House spokesperson Jen Psaki attacked Trump for pulling the US out of the 2015 deal — agreed by Iran, the US, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany — that offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

Trump unilaterally withdrew the US in 2018 and re-imposed draconian sanctions, prompting Tehran to begin rolling back on its commitments and stepping up its enrichment activities.

The decision to focus on Trump is a deliberate one as the current talks in Vienna aimed at bringing the sides back into the deal head for a conclusion, the Axios news site reported Wednesday, citing two White House sources, saying they wanted to “focus the fire on Trump.”

On Tuesday, Price answered a question on the Vienna talks with a comment on Trump.

“It’s worth spending just a moment on how we got here,” Price said. “It is deeply unfortunate that because of an ill-considered or perhaps unconsidered decision by the previous administration that this administration came into office without these stringent verification and monitoring protocols that were in place.”

Price added that the Trump administration promised a better deal “that never came close” and instead “Iran has been able to gallop forward with its nuclear promise.”

Speaking at a press briefing Psaki said that as a result of Trump’s actions “Iran’s nuclear program was no longer in a box, no longer had the most robust inspection regime ever negotiated, no longer had the tight restrictions on nuclear activity.”

Axios said the White House was laying the groundwork for the end of talks, when the US would either re-enter the deal or walk away and apply further pressure on Tehran.