Trump, Economic Crisis, and Nuclear Agreements

   
     On July 30th, 2018, President Trump stated that he would have a meeting with Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani, as soon as there was agreement between the two. Rouhani had said that there would be no meeting between them, much to Trump's distaste. Although this rejection seems simple, there were many layers of the past that defined why Rouhani said no to the meeting.
   
     A few years back, Iran had worked towards a nuclear agreement with President Obama, and had succeeded in 2015. This agreement between these two countries was beneficial for their relationships and stability. When Trump took office, all the hard work and persistence was thrown in the trash when Trump decided to end the agreement. The reason for him deciding to ditch the agreement? Iran was not going to be stopped from becoming a nuclear-armed state. Iran repeatedly stated they were not going to seek nuclear weaponry. The effects of this cancelled agreement with Iran were catastrophic. The two countries are now unable to get along, and Iran submerged into an economic crisis due to sanctions. This means Trump has negatively affected the lives of 80 million Iranian citizens. Their currency is losing its value, which is a huge problem that stems from the crisis.

     Looking back only a week ago, Trump had written a furious, all-caps statement on Twitter about threats made towards the U.S. by Iran. At this point, one can only imagine the hate brewed towards Trump by Iran, and especially by their President, Hassan Rouhani. So in retaliation, he declines an offer to meet with Trump. It will not be to any value of him anyways, as he also has a nuclear deal with Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China. These two countries have a lot of work to do before they can heal their relations.

Go to this link to view Trump speaking of this topic. 2Otur01

Sources:

• https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/30/us/politics/trump-iran-rouhani.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FUnited%20States%20Politics%20and%20Government&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=collection
• https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/30/donald-trump-iran-meeting-749866

Discussion Questions:

1. What could Trump have done or done differently to make this ordeal better than what it turned out to be?
2. What could Rouhani have done or done differently to make this ordeal better than what it turned out to be?
3. Do you believe that Rouhani should have agreed to have a meeting? Why or why not? 

     The reason I decided to write about this current event is because I enjoy watching how other countries react to Trump. I wanted to write about something that some people might not have heard of, and do so in a way that they understand the gist of what's happening. This event in particular includes the Middle East, which is under lots of stress right now, so there is always something new to see happening. Also, another thing to note is the uncertainty principle, a.k.a. Trump. This article puts his actions on full display.