According to a letter from the State Department during Obama's presidency, the JCPOA was not a signed treaty. It was considered non-binding. The actual agreement was never signed.

Donald Trump has received a lot of negative press for his recent withdrawal. He was well within his rights to pull out of this agreement. The letter stated that if Iran did not follow the arrangement, then sanctions could restart.

Iran did not follow the agreement. They were enriching uranium before the non-binding arrangement even started, though they denied it the whole time.

They were not during negotiations, using their reactors just for electricity.

JCPOA parameters

The letter from the state department stated, “The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is not a treaty or an executive agreement, and is not a signed document,” according to The National Review website. On this website, they have access to the whole letter. It is a verbal understanding between the parties involved.

The letter also states the European Union wasn't involved in the meetings. It only involved the United States, China, Russia, Germany, France, and Britain: The so-called P5+1. The European Union was not involved in the negotiations. The European Union is a non-elected group that should not have any involvement in negotiations between different nations.

There were no signers of this pact. That means that no country involved was bound by this arrangement. Sanctions could be resumed at any time if any party violates the terms of the deal. Iran violated before it even started. Trump could have immediately restarted the sanctions, but he gave the Iranian regime time to renegotiate the deal.

“The United States has a long-standing practice of addressing sensitive problems in negotiations that culminate in political commitments,” according to the The National Review website. The United States has been famous for their stance against negotiating with terrorists. Iran was one of the nations on the axis of evil created by President Bush shortly after 9/11.

They have been supporters of Hizballah, a well known terrorist organization.

That was the reason that the agreement was not signed. The United States could void the agreement and state that we did not negotiate with Iran. That is not how the world or the citizens of the United States view this agreement. It is viewed as an international treaty, and all parties are bound by its parameters.

Iran post-JCPOA

“The administration sacrificed Syrian civilians and American credibility for the mistaken notion that Iran required appeasement in Syria as the price for a nuclear agreement,” wrote Frederic Hof as reported on the website Commentary. Frederic Hof is a lifelong employee of the State Department and former adviser to President Obama.

One of his most significant shortfalls was his failure of isolating the Syrian conflict.

The nuclear deal was supposed to increase the likelihood that Iran would become an ally of the United States. Obama thought they were better allies than the “Sunni allies in Cairo, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh,” according to the Commentary website. The deal was clearly an attempt to lighten sanctions against Iran. The deal was like bribery to get them to become our allies.

The plan never materialized. The agreement actually helps expand the Syrian conflict because both Russia and Iran got involved. Iran and Russian have been longtime allies. Iran has long been an enemy against the United States. We helped Iraq in their war with Iran years ago.

It was a country that would later become our enemy, and we overthrew their government after 9/11.

The United States exited the JCPOA this week. The countries of the European Union are claiming that we have no right to exit this agreement. It was never signed, which means the JCPOA binds no nation. The European Union does not want it ended because they do billions of dollars in business with Iran.

The original parameters of the agreement have not transpired. Iran never became our allies and actually became stronger enemies. Their parliamentary action after the withdrawal was to burn an American flag and chant "Death to America." That does not sound like an ally, but an enemy of the United States. If they truly want to forgo nuclear weapons, then Iran should make the efforts to negotiate with the United States and create a true binding treaty that all countries must be held accountable for.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED