Tension is rising over the fate of the Iranian nuclear deal, against the background of the UN general assembly. “I have decided,” Donald Trump preannounced cryptically to reporters on the sidelines of the bilateral meeting with the president of the Palestinian authority Abu Mazenwithout revealing his intentions. As it did with the Paris climate agreement, keeping the world in suspense for days.
In the evening, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, after a 5+1 meeting in which he saw Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for the first time, held his cards face down. The president, he explained, has made his decision whether or not to certify compliance with the nuclear deal to the next deadline of 15 October but he didn't share it with anyone "externally", not even with Theresa May who had asked him yesterday.
NBC, citing four sources, including one high-level within the US administration, reported that the tycoon would favor the rejection of the certification: in which case Congress would have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose the sanctions canceled under the agreement. Trump's ultimate goal would be to get European allies to agree to renegotiate some measures and put pressure on Iran to return to the table.
Even Tillerson admitted that there are "significant problems" with the deal, after which "we've seen anything but stability" in the region. But Iranian President Hassan Rouhani defended the agreement by refusing to renegotiate it. “We will not be the first to violate it”, he told the UN general assembly, harshly criticizing Trump's threats, even though he said he did not expect the US to abandon the agreement, "despite the rhetoric and propaganda".
To strenuously defend the agreement was Federica Mogherini, high representative for EU foreign policy. “There is no reason to dismantle an agreement that works and delivers results,” she argued, noting that all parties agree that it has so far been respected, as certified by the IAEA. “We have another potential nuclear crisis. We absolutely don't need to enter another one,” he noted, referring to the North Korean crisis.
