Trump Withdraws United States from the JCPOA

President Trump signed a presidential memorandum on May 8, 2018, withdrawing the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and reimposing sanctions on Iran. The JCPOA, negotiated in 2015 under the Obama administration, had limited Iran's uranium enrichment to 3.67 percent and capped its enriched uranium stockpile at 300 kilograms under IAEA verification. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the U.S. would impose the highest level of economic pressure on Iran to force a "new deal" that addressed its missile program and regional activities alongside nuclear constraints.