A South Korean man reads a newspaper reporting the U.S. President Trump meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on June 12, 2018 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
Jun 12, 2018
In an interview shortly following U.S. President Donald Trump's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on Tuesday, Iranian government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht predicted--speaking from direct experience--that any deal Kim reached with Trump could be short-lived and warned "it is not clear that he would not cancel the agreement before returning home."
"The United States, especially Mr. Trump, has undermined international agreements and has unilaterally withdrawn from them."
--Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, Iranian government spokesman
Having just been on the receiving end of the Trump administration's most significant hammer-blow to diplomacy--namely, its decision to ditch a six-nation nuclear accord that was negotiated over a period of several years--Iran is perhaps better-positioned than any other nation to assess Trump's reliability as a negotiating partner and "dealmaker."
"The United States, especially Mr. Trump, has undermined international agreements and has unilaterally withdrawn from them," Nobakht noted on Tuesday, alluding to the Trump administration's decision to violate the nuclear deal, which is vastly more comprehensive than the "thin" and extremely vague joint statement Trump and Kim signed at the close of their summit.
"We are not optimistic about these talks," Nobakht concluded.
Members of the Iranian government were hardly the only ones citing the U.S. president's decision to abandon the landmark nuclear accord in assessing whether Trump will stay committed to gritty diplomatic discussions when the photo-ops end.
\u201cKim Jong Un must be laughing so hard at the Iranians. "You agreed to the most intrusive inspections and you even dismantled 2/3 of your centrafuges. Didn't you know all you needed to do was to wait till the Americans elected a clown who would do anything for just a photo op???\u201d— Trita Parsi (@Trita Parsi) 1528808733
While applauding the U.S.-North Korea talks as a step away from the war path, independent foreign policy expert Derek Davidson concluded that "Tuesday's 'agreement' was almost entirely free of any substance. For a guy who has heavily criticized the Iran deal and previous agreements with North Korea, Trump's big achievement amounts to much less than those previous agreements."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
In an interview shortly following U.S. President Donald Trump's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on Tuesday, Iranian government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht predicted--speaking from direct experience--that any deal Kim reached with Trump could be short-lived and warned "it is not clear that he would not cancel the agreement before returning home."
"The United States, especially Mr. Trump, has undermined international agreements and has unilaterally withdrawn from them."
--Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, Iranian government spokesman
Having just been on the receiving end of the Trump administration's most significant hammer-blow to diplomacy--namely, its decision to ditch a six-nation nuclear accord that was negotiated over a period of several years--Iran is perhaps better-positioned than any other nation to assess Trump's reliability as a negotiating partner and "dealmaker."
"The United States, especially Mr. Trump, has undermined international agreements and has unilaterally withdrawn from them," Nobakht noted on Tuesday, alluding to the Trump administration's decision to violate the nuclear deal, which is vastly more comprehensive than the "thin" and extremely vague joint statement Trump and Kim signed at the close of their summit.
"We are not optimistic about these talks," Nobakht concluded.
Members of the Iranian government were hardly the only ones citing the U.S. president's decision to abandon the landmark nuclear accord in assessing whether Trump will stay committed to gritty diplomatic discussions when the photo-ops end.
\u201cKim Jong Un must be laughing so hard at the Iranians. "You agreed to the most intrusive inspections and you even dismantled 2/3 of your centrafuges. Didn't you know all you needed to do was to wait till the Americans elected a clown who would do anything for just a photo op???\u201d— Trita Parsi (@Trita Parsi) 1528808733
While applauding the U.S.-North Korea talks as a step away from the war path, independent foreign policy expert Derek Davidson concluded that "Tuesday's 'agreement' was almost entirely free of any substance. For a guy who has heavily criticized the Iran deal and previous agreements with North Korea, Trump's big achievement amounts to much less than those previous agreements."
In an interview shortly following U.S. President Donald Trump's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on Tuesday, Iranian government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nobakht predicted--speaking from direct experience--that any deal Kim reached with Trump could be short-lived and warned "it is not clear that he would not cancel the agreement before returning home."
"The United States, especially Mr. Trump, has undermined international agreements and has unilaterally withdrawn from them."
--Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, Iranian government spokesman
Having just been on the receiving end of the Trump administration's most significant hammer-blow to diplomacy--namely, its decision to ditch a six-nation nuclear accord that was negotiated over a period of several years--Iran is perhaps better-positioned than any other nation to assess Trump's reliability as a negotiating partner and "dealmaker."
"The United States, especially Mr. Trump, has undermined international agreements and has unilaterally withdrawn from them," Nobakht noted on Tuesday, alluding to the Trump administration's decision to violate the nuclear deal, which is vastly more comprehensive than the "thin" and extremely vague joint statement Trump and Kim signed at the close of their summit.
"We are not optimistic about these talks," Nobakht concluded.
Members of the Iranian government were hardly the only ones citing the U.S. president's decision to abandon the landmark nuclear accord in assessing whether Trump will stay committed to gritty diplomatic discussions when the photo-ops end.
\u201cKim Jong Un must be laughing so hard at the Iranians. "You agreed to the most intrusive inspections and you even dismantled 2/3 of your centrafuges. Didn't you know all you needed to do was to wait till the Americans elected a clown who would do anything for just a photo op???\u201d— Trita Parsi (@Trita Parsi) 1528808733
While applauding the U.S.-North Korea talks as a step away from the war path, independent foreign policy expert Derek Davidson concluded that "Tuesday's 'agreement' was almost entirely free of any substance. For a guy who has heavily criticized the Iran deal and previous agreements with North Korea, Trump's big achievement amounts to much less than those previous agreements."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.