Kim Jong Un has toned down his utterances, and Guam appears to have gone out of reckoning for the time being. However, Donald Trump has run into another war of words, this time with President Hassan Rouhani of Iran. The US reached a deal with Iran in 2015 under President Obama. The deal limited Iran's ability to produce a nuclear weapon, and if complied with, would put an end to most of the sanctions against it.
However, President Donald Trump wants to do away with the accord and impose fresh sanctions to which President Rouhani has reacted by saying that such an action would amount to a breach of the 2015 deal.
If that happened and the United States went ahead with its threats and sanctions, Iran could abandon the nuclear deal on short notice.
US wants to impose fresh sanctions on Iran
Daily Mail UK reports that US legislators have sanctioned imposing mandatory penalties on those who are involved in Iran's ballistic missile program and also on those who have business dealings with them. Iran retaliated by increasing its spending on the missile program.
President Hassan Rouhani told his lawmakers that if the nuclear deal fell apart, it would mean tension with America, and in case Washington insists on following the line of threats and sanctions, Iran could change tracks and turn to a more advanced level of nuclear applications.
However, it prefers to honor the accord and expects the United States to do the same, but it seems that it is relying more on the language of threats and sanctions.
What is Iran’s strategy?
Iran had been tied down by sanctions for a long time, but under Barack Obama's presidency an agreement was signed in 2015. Under the agreement, a cap was put on the uranium enrichment levels of Iran and in return international sanctions would be lifted.
President Rouhani always maintained that the nuclear programs of Iran were for peaceful applications while the US and the world felt Iran wanted to produce atomic weapons. That finally led to the accord with Obama, and Rouhani’s recent statements have created a confusion of whether he plans to restart centrifuges that enrich uranium to higher and more dangerous levels for use in bombs.
Iran has a stock of centrifuges that can create low-level uranium for use as reactor fuel and for medical and research purposes. However it could produce the much higher levels needed for a nuclear weapon.
In the opinion of observers, the remarks of Rouhani were aimed at his domestic audience who want him to take a tough stand against the United States. Of course, he has added that Iran had agreed to the nuclear deal but it can always take a relook if the situation demands.
