TEHRAN - Robin Ramcharan, a lecturer at the Webster University of Thailand and executive director of the Bangkok-based Asia Centre, has said that U.S. President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, has been costly for the U.S.

“The American withdrawal from the JCPOA has led to many doubts about the United States’ willingness to uphold its international commitments. This is costly to the United States, which is facing the weakening of its friendships around the world,” Ramcharan told ILNA in an interview published on Saturday.

He also said, “President Trump, throughout his life, has consistently held the view that the rest of the world exploits the USA and that American leaders have been too weak in securing favorable deals. This partly informs his approach to Iran. He was also determined to undo President Obama’s legacy, the JCPOA being a landmark achievement, because of his not so subtle racial prejudice.”

Trump withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear deal in May 2018 and imposed the toughest ever sanctions in history on Iran.

Ben Rhodes, former Obama’s adviser, said in July 2019 that Trump quit the JCPOA, because Obama negotiated it.

“Did anyone really need a leaked document from the UK Ambassador to know that Trump pulled out of the Iran Deal because Obama negotiated it?” Rhodes tweeted.

Kim Darroch, the former British ambassador to the U.S., has said Trump seemed to be discarding the Iran nuclear deal for “personality reasons,” as the deal had been agreed to by Obama, the Daily Mail reported in July 2019.

Darroch said the Trump administration was “set upon an act of diplomatic vandalism” in its decision to abandon the JCPOA.

Former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told IRNA in an interview in October 2019 Trump quit the nuclear deal because Obama signed it.

He said that the U.S. must admit that it made a wrong decision to quit the nuclear deal, urging the White House to return to the pact.

Straw said that the United States’ withdrawal from the JCPOA had “no logic”.

--------‘Transfer of oil to Venezuela was significant’

Ramcharan also said that transfer of oil to Venezuela by Iran was significant both on humanitarian and geopolitical grounds.

“Venezuela is a country in crisis because of mis-governance. The economy is malfunctioning and there is a serious shortage of oil. Iran helped Venezuela to satisfy basic needs of people in their time of internal crisis. The transfer is an example of South-South cooperation but will not be well received by the Trump Administration, which has been trying to isolate Venezuela diplomatically and economically,” he said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Thursday that Iran and Venezuela remain steadfast in countering unlawful sanctions of the United States.

Five Iranian oil tankers by the names of Petunia, Forest, Faxon, Clavel, and Fortune carried fuel to Venezuela despite the United States’ sanctions. The last of them entered Venezuelan waters on June 1.

The tankers carried 1,520,000 barrels of gasoline and diesel fuel to Venezuela. There was also a team of Iranian engineers and specialists from the oil industry on board heading for the country.

In a message on June 8, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the crew of the Iranian tankers that shipped fuel to Venezuela, saying, “You did a great job. Your move was jihadi. You brought glory to the country.” 

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said that Russia, China, Iran, and Cuba are real friends of Venezuela as they provide all-round help to Caracas.

“Humanitarian aid is coming from China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba. They are [Venezuela’s] true friends,” TASS quoted him as saying in a speech broadcast by the state TV on June 7.

Conn Hallinan, a columnist for Foreign Policy In Focus, has said that arrival of Iranian fuel tankers in Venezuelan waters was a crack in wall of the United States’ illegal sanctions against Caracas.

This action is a step in reducing “pressure” on Venezuela, Hallinan said, adding the Venezuelan people were in dire need of fuel.

This shipment brought revenue for Iran and from this point of view it was “a crack in wall of the United States’ illegal sanctions,” he told IRNA in an interview published on June 1.

Iranian Ambassador to Venezuela Hojat Soltani has also said that the United States’ unilateral sanctions have lost their efficiency.

“The United States’ unilateral sanctions against Venezuela, Iran and a number of other countries have lost efficiency,” IRNA quoted him as saying in an interview with the Al-Alam news network.

He also said that arrival of Iranian oil tankers in the Venezuelan waters was an “international victory”.

Venezuela’s envoy to the UN Jorge Valero has said that Iran and Venezuela will continue fighting U.S. President Donald Trump’s hostile policies.

“The people of Iran and Venezuela are two brotherly nations and will continue their war against Trump’s hostile policies,” ISNA quoted him as saying on June 9 in an interview with Al Mayadeen TV channel.

NA/PA