Iran nuke deal must be revisited: Tillerson

United Nations, September 20 

The US is looking for support from its allies to persuade Iran to re-open talks on the nuclear deal, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said today. 

“We do need the support of our allies, our European allies and others, to make the case as well to Iran that this deal really needs to be revisited,” Tillerson told the Fox News.  The US diplomat-in-chief spoke on the eve of his first meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and foreign ministers from the five other signatories of the 2015 nuclear accord: Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia. 

In his first address to the UN General Assembly, President Donald Trump signaled he was ready to kill the nuclear deal, dubbing it “an embarrassment to the US”.

Under the nuclear deal, Iran surrendered much of its enriched uranium, dismantled a reactor and submitted nuclear sites to UN inspection, while Washington and Europe lifted some sanctions.

Tillerson said “sunset provision” was “the most glaring flaw” and drew a parallel with North Korea where an agreement on dismantling its nuclear programme collapsed in 2002. “It’s not a stiff enough pact. It doesn’t slow their programme enough,” said Tillerson. “We can almost start the countdown clock as to when they will resume their nuclear capability.” — AFP