The true meaning Donald Trump reads into the words "bad deal" when talking about the international nuclear agreement with Iran, is becoming increasingly obvious. By the grace of the current American President, the United States withdrew from it in May 2018. The other day, speaking at a campaign rally of his supporters in North Carolina, the head of the White house said: "... I ended that catastrophe deal i.e. Iran’s nuclear deal, under which the United States paid $150 billion and $1.8 billion in cash to the Islamic Republic of Iran."

This is not the first time Trump cites these figures. Back in 2017, he reproached former democratic President Barack Obama for allegedly giving these funds away to the Islamic Republic. But let's strip away the current campaign rhetoric and the desire to once again sting the Democrats.

The key words here are "the US paid Iran". Without going into further details of the agreement, the American public may really believe that the insidious and cunning Iran has screwed the naive United States over. Let us recall that billions mentioned by Trump are actually Iranian money, which was stored in foreign banks in Iranian dollar accounts after the sale of oil and gas. Under the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), these funds were unblocked in response to significant restrictions on Tehran's nuclear activities.

But the head of the White House is apparently convinced that since the United States is "drawing" dollars, they do belong to it. And it follows that if you have to part with greenbacks, the deal is "wrong" or "bad". And it can only be "good" if the United States gets money paid.

The accounts unblocked in 2016 allowed the Islamic Republic to launch a number of substantial infrastructure projects in the country to build new enterprises in oil and gas processing, metal industry, agriculture, road and utility installation, and the development of energy, including nuclear power.

And what Washington did not like at all, Tehran started rapidly enhancing its military and defensive capability inclusive of the missile one. Not a month goes by that the Iranian military-industrial complex introduces a new product, whether it be a sophisticated radar system, a new-fashioned RPAS, or a submarine. Even reputable American experts were forced to recognize Iran's expanding military might. According to the annual review by the US-based Global Fire Power (GFP) calculating the land-water-air military capabilities of 138 countries, as of 2020, Iran ranks 14th in the world and 7th in Asia, on the continent where Russia, China and India dominate. At the same time, the GFP rating leaves out the potential of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite unit of the Iranian armed forces dealing with air defense and Iran's missile program.

According to GFP, Iran's military power surpasses that of Israel and Saudi Arabia.  And this despite the Islamic Republic's military budget being less than half that of Israel and less than a third that of Saudi Arabia, America's top weapon importing partner.

And after October 18, when the international arms trade embargo with Iran is lifted, Tehran is expected to be able both to import weapons and to export its military products, primarily to its allies in the Middle East.

After withdrawing from the nuclear agreement, Washington has re-imposed sanctions against Iran, including a ban on oil exports, and blocks all the dollar transactions. According to data provided by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, as at the start of 2020, the newly imposed restrictions damaged the Iranian economy in the amount of $ 200 billion.

Now the United States is trying to rush a decision to indefinitely extend the arms embargo in the UN Security Council. This is truly breathtaking hypocrisy if you remember arms contracts worth hundreds of billions of dollars Washington has signed with Saudi Arabia, its largest ally in the Middle East and Iran's adversary. With knowledge that the Security Council will stand up against Washington's trend and that the embargo will be lifted on time, the United States is even ready to single-handedly extend the ban on arms trade with the Islamic Republic, as well as to engage the so-called "reverse" mechanism of reviving international sanctions.

However, all of this fits into the philosophy of Washington's current foreign policy strategists, who have recently often confused international law with American interests. They believe that if the United States possesses the printing machine and military bases throughout the world, it might as well ignore the UN Security Council.