Trump on collision course over Iran nuclear deal

Iran will not renegotiate its nuclear agreement, even if it faces new US sanctions after Donald Trump’s inauguration as president, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday. Trump, who will take office on Friday, has threatened either to scrap the agreement, which curbs Iran’s nuclear programme and lifts sanctions, or seek a better deal.

Araghchi, however, told Iranian state news agencies that “there will be no renegotiation and the [agreement] will not be reopened.” He was the chief Iranian negotiator in the agreement that took effect last year, and he spoke about America undermining the deal. “The United States has done whatever it can to slow down Iran’s progress,” he explained. He mentioned Washington’s efforts to “delay” and “disrespect promises by the US and some countries.”

If Trump pushes ahead with his promise to renegotiate the deal, he is likely to face stiff resistance from other key parties involved, including France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China. The European Union said today that it was pleased with the results of the work on the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal and expects its realisation to continue.

The EU is not the only party with which the Trump administration looks set to be heading for a collision. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson spoke of “marinating” the deal during a meeting in Brussels today. China has also warned Trump that the Iran nuclear deal must stand, while Russia has been more hawkish towards Trump’s comments, saying that the loss of the agreement with Iran would be unforgivable.