Iran Ends Nuclear Limits as Killing of Iranian General Upends Mideast
2020/1/7 17:22:35 Source：The New York Times
BEIRUT — The consequences of the U.S.’ assassination of a top Iranian general rippled across the Middle East and beyond on Sunday, with Iran ending commitments it made to limit its nuclear program and Iraqi lawmakers voting to expel U.S. forces from their country.
Steeling for retaliation from Iran, a U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Syria suspended the campaign it has waged against the Islamic State for years.
President Donald Trump has said the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani on Friday was aimed at preventing war. But so far, it has unleashed a host of unintended consequences that could dramatically alter where the United States operates and Iran’s ability to develop advanced weapons.
Iran’s government said Sunday it was abandoning its “final limitations in the nuclear deal,” the international agreement intended to prevent the country from developing nuclear weapons. The decision leaves no restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program, the statement said, including on uranium enrichment, production, research and expansion.
Iran will, however, continue its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and return to the nuclear deal if the economic sanctions imposed on it are removed and Iran’s interests guaranteed, the government said. U.S. sanctions have hit Iran’s oil-based economy particularly hard.
Soleimani was a towering figure in Iran’s security establishment and its activities across the Middle East. Since he was killed in a U.S. drone strike at the Baghdad airport Friday, Iran and its partners have stepped up calls for vengeance, although they have yet to follow through on the threats.
Lawmakers in Iraq voted Sunday to require the government to end the presence of U.S. troops in the country after the United States ordered the assassination.
The vote will not be final until it is signed by the prime minister. Few doubted, however, that the country would take whatever legal actions were necessary to compel a U.S. departure. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi of Iraq drafted the language and submitted the bill approved by Parliament on Sunday, leaving little doubt about his support.
The legislation would end the mission approved in 2014 that gave the United States the explicit task of helping Iraqi forces fight the Islamic State. That agreement gave the Americans substantial latitude to launch attacks and use Iraqi airspace.
