In the fallout of relations between US and Iran after US' assassination of the head of the Quds Force General Qasem Soleimani, Iran has declared that it no longer considers itself bound by the 2015 agreement negotiated with the US and other world powers. The announcement was made by the semi-official Fars news organisation.
Another effect has been Iraq's parliament voting to oust US troops from the country. "The government commits to revoke its request for assistance from the international coalition fighting Islamic State due to the end of military operations in Iraq and the achievement of victory," the resolution read.
“The United States is disappointed by the action taken today in the Iraqi Council of Representatives,” US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in an emailed statement.
Tensions escalated between the US and Iran ever since Trump exited US from the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) in 2018.
If Iran goes ahead and makes an atomic bomb, it could make the Middle East region more volatile than ever and could help the Islamic State to stage a comeback.
Ian however, also announced that they are ready to negotiate with European co-signers of the treaty over its nuclear program. Currently, there is no clarity on what immediate steps Iran could take in the nuclear program.
Post the US exiting the treaty and imposing sanctions on Iran, which crippled its economy, Iran has been gradually rolling back its commitments under the agreement and enriching its uranium stockpiles.
A Lebanese proxy nurtured by the slain General Soleimani, in the meantime vowed to attack US soldiers and bases as Gulf Arab states tried to head off the kind of retribution that would plunge the combustible region into a broad military confrontation.
The US-led coalition against Islamic State said Sunday it has suspended training and operations against the jihadi group in Iraq, with resources redirected to protecting Iraqi bases that host coalition troops.
Withdrawal of US troops in Iraq would mean an end to a chapter that began with the 2003 invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.
US President Trump threatening to attack Iranian cultural sites and impose more severe sanctions undercut his assertion a day earlier that the US hadn’t launched the attack near Baghdad airport on Thursday to “start a war.” Pompeo, who was in talks with officials across the Middle East and Russia, in the previous two days had repeatedly reaffirmed that the US remains committed to defusing tensions with Iran.
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Iran’s Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, said, the punishment for assassinating Soleimani and for any consequent attack would mean the end of US military presence in the region.
