Iranian supreme leader has said his country will “shred” the 2015 nuclear deal with the U.S. and five other European powers if Washington decides to quit the agreement.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Iran will comply with the nuclear agreement, which curbs Iran’s uranium enrichment program in return for a relief from international sanctions, as long as America sticks to the deal.
Remarks by Khamenei, who has the final say in Iran, came five days after President Donald J. Trump refused to re-certify Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal and accused the country of destabilizing the region.
Decertifying by the president is an internal matter. It is now up to the U.S. Congress to decide whether or not to re-impose sanctions on Iran. If that happens, it is highly likely that the deal will collapse.
European countries strongly urged Mr. Trump to preserve the deal, saying that the alternative option is closer to war. The U.S. claims that Iran already violated the “spirit of the agreement” by test-firing ballistic missiles.
Mr. Trump called the 2015 agreement with Iran “the worst deal ever” and promised to rip it up on his first day in office. His national security team, including Defense Secretary James Mattis, urged him not to be on the side of walking out of the agreement.