Pressure grows on Trump to keep Iran nuclear deal alive

Western allies stepped up pressure on US President Donald Trump on Monday to keep alive an international nuclear deal with Iran, with French President Emmanuel Macron due to urge him in person not to tear up the 2015 agreement.

Trump has said that unless European allies fix what he has called its "terrible flaws" by May 12, he will restore US economic sanctions on Tehran, which would be a severe blow to the pact.

Macron, arriving in Washington for a state visit later on Monday, said on Sunday there was no "Plan B" for keeping a lid on Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

The agreement between Iran, the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany was born of longstanding concern among major powers that Iran was seeking to develop an atomic weapon and imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief for Tehran. Critics of the pact, including Trump, have said it does not adequately contain Iran.

Trump sees three defects: a failure to address Iran's ballistic missile programme; the terms under which international inspectors can visit suspect Iranian nuclear sites; and "sunset" clauses under which limits on the Iranian nuclear programme start to expire after 10 years.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said both Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Friday, would urge the US president to stay in the deal.

"We believe it is extremely important to uphold this agreement. Were it to fail or the US to drop out, we would not have anything comparable to it and we fear that the situation would significantly deteriorate with everything that goes with it," Maas told reporters.

He was speaking at a meeting in Toronto of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations.

Britain's foreign minister, Boris Johnson, echoed this. Also speaking to reporters in Toronto, he told reporters, "There is a strong view around the (G7) table that we need to make the case for the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.)"

"We accept that Iranian behaviour has been disruptive in the region, we accept the president (Trump) has some valid points that need to be addressed but we believe they are capable of being addressed (inside the deal)," Johnson said.

Iran has said it will stick to the accord as long as the other parties respect it, but will "shred" the deal if Washington pulls out. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on European leaders on Monday to support it.

"It is either all or nothing. European leaders should encourage Trump not just to stay in the nuclear deal, but more important to begin implementing his part of the bargain in good faith," Zarif wrote on his Twitter account.

At a nuclear non-proliferation conference in Geneva on Monday there were repeated calls for parties to the deal to ensure its implementation and preservation.

UN High representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu said it "continues to be the best way to ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme and to realise the promised tangible economic benefits for the Iranian people."

On a visit to Beijing, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had agreed with his Chinese counterpart to block any U.S. attempt to sabotage the deal.

Trump's threat to restore US economic sanctions on oil-producing Iran have been one factor helping drive up global oil prices this month to their highest since late 2014. 

- Reuters

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