Trump Announces Withdrawal from Iran Nuclear Deal - Fulfills One of His Most Dangerous Campaign Promises

President Donald Trump announced from the White House on Tuesday that he is withdrawing the U.S. from the Iran Nuclear deal negotiated by the administration of President Barack Obama.

"The Iran deal is defective at its core," Trump said. "I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal."

"In theory, the so-called Iran deal was supposed to protect the United States and our allies from the lunacy of an Iranian nuclear bomb," Trump said. The president accused the deal of slow-walking Iran toward nuclear weapon development rather than stopping it.

Trump called the deal an "embarrassment to me as a citizen." He claimed the White House has "conclusive" evidence of Iran violating the spirit, and possibly letter, of the deal by continuing weapons development. This claim is not supported by evidence.

"If I allowed this deal to stand, there would soon be a nuclear arms race in the Middle East," Trump said.

The deal is considered one of Obama's signature foreign policy successes and enjoyed widespread support.

Leaders from France and Germany both made recent visits to the White House and lobbied the president to fulfill its international agreement. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports Trump's decisions, but many in the country's government do not share his view.  

Additional concerns surround recent National Security Adviser John Bolton. Some speculate that the president's decision is a precursor to an attempt at the regime change in Iran desired by Bolton.

Practical implications of Trump's nuclear deal violation, aside from a weakening of global trust in the U.S., is a heightened risk of Middle East conflict and a disruption in the global oil supply chain.

(This story was updated at 3:32 p.m. ET to better reflect Israel's position.)