Trump expected to move against Iran nuclear deal

International Desk: US President Donald Trump is expected to refuse to certify Iran's compliance with the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, an agreement between world powers and Tehran aimed at limiting the latter's nuclear programme to non-military purposes.

The move comes despite thinly-veiled criticisms from US allies in Europe who have developed burgeoning commercial and political ties with Iran.

Trump is to lay out his plan in a 16:45 GMT speech at the White House on Friday.

Trump's withdrawal of endorsement would mean US lawmakers could vote to introduce new sanctions against Iran, which Iranian leaders say could lead to their country's partial or complete withdrawal from the deal.

Often abbreviated to "the Iran deal" or "Iran nuclear deal", JCPOA is an agreement between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany and the EU to ensure its nuclear programme is limited to civilian use.

The deal, which was signed in October 2015 and implemented at the start of 2016, followed years of negotiation between the US, represented by then-Secretary of State John Kerry, and Iran, represented by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

The agreement requires Iran to completely eliminate stockpiles of medium-enriched uranium and drastically reduce reserves of low-enriched uranium.

The material in its high-enriched form is required to produce nuclear weapons. Iran denies that it has ever had the aim of producing a nuclear weapon.

Iran also agreed to reduce the number of centrifuges capable of enriching uranium.

In return, UN sanctions related to Iran's nuclear programme were lifted, as were some EU sanctions.

The US ended some secondary sanctions against non-US businesses and individuals who engaged in commercial activity with Iran.

Source: Agencies

 

risingbd/Oct 13, 2017/Mukul