Iran may abandon nuclear agreement if U.S. withdraws from deal

Tehran [Iran], October 1 (ANI) Iran may abandon the nuclear deal it reached with six major powers if the United States decides to withdraw from it.

Quoting Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, various local media reports have said: "If Washington decides to pull out of the deal, Iran has the option of withdrawal and other options."

"Washington will be in a better position if it remains committed to the deal," Zarif added.

Iran had agreed to restrict its nuclear programme in return for lifting most international sanctions that had crippled its economy, after repeatedly telling Iranian authorities that Tehran would not be the first to violate the agreement.

If Trump, who has called the 2015 accord an "embarrassment" and "the worst deal ever negotiated," does not recertify it by October 16, Congress has 60 days to decide whether to re-impose sanctions suspended under the deal.

The deal is supported by the other major powers that negotiated it with Iran and its collapse could worsen tensions in the Middle East.

Earlier, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley blasted Russia for trying to shield Iran from United Nations nuclear inspections. She accused Russia of completely undermining the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"If the Iran nuclear deal is to have any meaning, the parties must have a common understanding of its terms. Iranian officials have already said they will refuse to allow inspections at military sites, even though the IAEA? says there must be no distinction between military and non-military sites. Now it appears that some countries are attempting to shield Iran from even more inspections. Without inspections, the Iran deal is an empty promise," Haley said, in a statement.

Haley's statement referred to a report that asked the JCPOA signatories to clarify whether, the section banning. "activities which could contribute to the development of a nuclear explosive device," authorises his inspectors to investigate military sites in Iran. (ANI)