A “disappointed” Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop has joined other American allies by breaking ranks with US President Donald Trump over his controversial decision to take a step towards potentially quitting the landmark Iran nuclear agreement.
Nuclear deterrent experts said Mr Trump’s de-certification of the international agreement over Iran’s nuclear weapons signed by President Barack Obama and other world leaders in 2015 would make the faint chance of a deal with North Korea on its nuclear program even more remote.
In a rare implied criticism of American foreign policy and Australia’s No.1 ally, Ms Bishop said: “Australia is disappointed that the US administration did not re-certify Iran’s compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“The government supports the continued implementation of the JCPOA in the absence of a credible and effective alternative.”
Read the article by John Kehoe in the Australian Financial Review.