Trump will decertify Iran deal: report

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump plans to announce next week that he will "decertify" the landmark Iran nuclear deal, a move that could lead to the potential collapse of the agreement, according to media reports citing US officials on Thursday.

Trump was expected to roll out a broader US strategy on Iran, of which his decision on the nuclear deal was an important part, said officials on condition of anonymity.

On Oct 15, Trump is due to testify to Congress whether Tehran is complying with the deal and whether it remains in the US interests in sticking to it.

If he decides it is not, it could open the way for US lawmakers to re-impose sanctions, leading to the potential collapse of the agreement.

Trump has long criticized the Iran nuclear pact, a signature deal reached between Iran and the world six powers of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany in July 2015.

In his speech delivered at the UN General Assembly last month, Trump called the agreement "an embarrassment" for the United States and indicated that he may not recertify the deal at its mid-October deadline.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned earlier that Tehran will only abide by the provisions under the nuclear deal if the other parties remain committed to it.

The Iran nuclear deal, officially known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, has helped defuse the Iran nuclear crisis and bolster the international non-proliferation regime.

Earlier last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency, a UN nuclear watchdog, said that Iran was playing by the rules set out in the nuclear accord.

Xinhua

(China Daily USA 10/06/2017 page2)