President Donald Trump announces his decision to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in the Diplomatic Room at the White House May 8, 2018. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Today, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. will back out of the 2015 Iran deal that barred Iran from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. In the wake of this news, I recorded a special edition Just Security Podcast to ask Truman National Security Project President and CEO Mike Breen for his reaction to the end of U.S. involvement in what had been a successful effort to peacefully keep Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
We touched on some of the most concerning things about today’s news: the risk that it will lead to conflict with Iran, the impact it will have on the U.S.’s relationship with its allies, Trump’s claims that the deal wasn’t working, that this is good for Russia, how Congress needs to assert its authority over the executive branch’s ability to wage war, and more.
Music: Autumn Leaves by Podington Bear