TEHRAN- U.S. columnist Stephen Lendman says the new U.S. President Donald Trump will look stupid if he withdraws from the nuclear deal because it is an “international treaty”.

Signatories to the nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), marked its one-year anniversary just recently.

The deal, signed between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, has been endorsed by the UN Resolution 2231.

“JCPOA is an international treaty. Trump will look like a fool if he pulls out,” Stephen tells the Tehran Times.
  

Following is the text of the interview:

Q: Trump has used threatening and even contradictory language about the nuclear deal.  What’s going on in his mind?
 
A: JCPOA is an international treaty. Trump will look like a fool if he pulls out. I doubt he’ll do it, but, like Obama, he can breach it by imposing more sanctions, keeping Iranian assets frozen and maintaining hostile relations. I suspect this is what he’ll do. If so, I’ll strongly criticize him.

Q: Why is Trump against the Trans Pacific Partnership trade pact? 

A: Trump wants more jobs created at home, wanting offshoring them to stop. That’s why he’s against TPP and similar trade deals. At the same time, he’s strongly for free trade. I suspect he’ll compromise on these deals to please corporate America.
I’m concerned about what he’s said about China and Iran. A Sino/Russia alliance can match America’s strength economically and militarily. Trump can’t have better relations with Russia by antagonizing China and Iran. I hope his governance will be more responsible than his rhetoric.

Q: Isn’t the contact between Trump and Taiwan’s leader in contrast to Washington’s one-China policy?

A: I consider taking a phone call from Taiwan’s leader a minor issue. I’m concerned he uses the one China policy as a bargaining chip. Beijing won’t tolerate it. I don’t know what he’ll do but I’m worried.

Q: What is your prediction of the quality of relations between the United States and NATO under Trump?

A: It’s important to follow what politicians do, not what they say. Obama broke every major promise he made, including to Iran, breaching the JCPOA by imposing new sanctions after its implementation.
Trump has no public record on which to judge him. We’ll have to wait how he’ll govern. He’s called NATO obsolete, wants it used to fight terrorism, not overthrow governments, and wants all 28 members to pay their fair share. America currently funds around 75% of NATO.
It was always about offense, not defense, especially after Soviet Russia’s dissolution. It’s a killing machine used by Washington to advance its imperial agenda. I hope Trump will reign it in but who knows.