The Latest on the U. S.-Iran nuclear deal (all times EDT):
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the U. S.-Iran nuclear deal (all times EDT):
6:10 p.m.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says his first priority on Iran, now that President Donald Trump has announced his new approach, is to confer with allies.
Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon on Friday he wants to hear first-hand from allies in the Middle East and beyond, to understand better their views on what the Trump administration calls «misbehavior» in areas other than nuclear weapons. He was referring to Iranian support for extremist groups and its ballistic missile program, among others.
Mattis says the U. S. intends to «dissuade» Iran from shipping arms to Yemen, where it supports Shiite rebels known as Houthis. He says this does not imply any U. S. military action but rather a sharing of intelligence with allies and partners who share a concern about Iranian behavior.
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5:30 p.m.
The chief of the U. N. agency monitoring the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers says Iran is honoring its commitments.
The statement from Yukiya Amano of the International Atomic Energy Agency was issued Friday after U. S. President Donald Trump said he could not certify Iran’s compliance because the country has committed «multiple violations» of the deal.
Amano says the «nuclear-related commitments undertaken by Iran … are being implemented» and Tehran is «subject to the world’s most robust nuclear verification regime.»
Trump is not withdrawing from the deal or re-imposing nuclear sanctions. Instead, he tossed the issue to Congress and the other nations in the accord.
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5:15 p.m.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry says President Donald Trump’s decision not to certify the Iran nuclear deal is reckless and divisive.
Kerry led the Obama administration’s Iran deal negotiations. In a statement Friday, Kerry says Trump is «creating an international crisis.»
Kerry says it is now up to Congress and the other parties to the deal to be «the adults in the room» and save it.
Trump’s decision stops short of pulling the United States out of the Iran deal and kicks the issue to Congress.
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4:10 p.m.
Israel’s minister of intelligence says President Donald Trump’s decision not re-certify the Iran nuclear deal signals the administration’s resolve to counter the threat Iran poses.
Israel Katz says Trump’s move sets the stage for increasing pressure and for «fixing some of the flaws in the dangerous nuclear agreement which in its present form will allow Iran to develop a nuclear capability in the not so distant future.» Katz says the deal provides Iran with «a kind of an insurance policy until then.»
Israel has been a fierce critic of the 2015 deal, which lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for concessions regarding its nuclear program. Israel has long warned that it failed to address Iran’s support for militant groups who act against it.
Iran openly calls for Israel’s destruction.
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4 p.m.
French President Emmanuel Macron is countering U. S. President Donald Trump’s Iran announcement by holding talks with Iran’s president and pledging support for the international nuclear accord.
Macron’s office says he spoke Friday with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who gave assurances of Iran’s commitment to the 2015 accord. Macron didn’t address the risk of new U. S. sanctions.
Macron says he pressed Rouhani to help settle the Syrian crisis as part of efforts to improve trust.
Macron’s statement says Rouhani will host the International Atomic Energy Agency chief in Iran next week, and the French foreign minister will go to Iran soon to discuss the accord.
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3:42 a.m.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says he fully expects that U. S. allies in Europe and the Middle East will be «very supportive» of President Donald Trump’s actions on Iran.
Tillerson is speaking after Trump accused Iran of violating the nuclear deal but stopped short of pulling out or re-imposing sanctions.
European countries that negotiated the 2015 deal with Iran and the U. S. had urged him not to do so and declared they were uninterested in renegotiating the deal.
But Tillerson says it’s «in all of our interest» to work together to confront the threat posed by Iran. He says that Trump’s plan is «quite clear.»
Tillerson spoke during a photo-op with the visiting head of the Organization of American States.
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3:40 p.m.
The Senate’s top Democrat who opposed the Iran nuclear deal two years ago now says the accord is in the national security interests of the U. S.
Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York is urging President Donald Trump to keep the seven-nation pact in place.
Schumer says in a brief statement that Trump should listen to his top national security advisers who’ve recommended that the nuclear agreement be preserved.
Trump has threatened to pull the United States out of the deal unless Congress is able to fix the accord’s flaws and also toughen the law that governs U. S. participation in it.
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3:20 p.m.
A senior Russian lawmaker says President Donald Trump’s decision not to recertify the Iran nuclear agreement raises the danger of conflict.
Frants Klintsevich is deputy chairman of the defense committee in the upper house of parliament. He tells the Interfax news agency, «The creation of an unstable situation can lead to Iran reacting. With its resources and capabilities, Iran is a very serious country.»
Separately, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov is quoted by Interfax as saying there is a chance the two-year-old Iran nuclear deal «will avoid a complete and destructive attack from its opponents, and it should be tried.»
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3:15 p.m.
Saudi Arabia is praising President Donald Trump’s tough words about the kingdom’s rival, Iran.
The Saudi government says in a statement carried by the state TV broadcaster that the kingdom welcomes Trump’s «commitment to work with U. S. allies in the region to face common challenges, particularly Iran’s aggressive policies.»
While Saudi Arabia says it supports the nuclear deal in place, it accuses Iran exploiting the economic benefits of sanctions being lifted «to continue destabilizing the region, especially through its ballistic missile development program and its support for terrorism in the region.»
The Sunni monarchy also names Iran’s backing of Shiite militias like Hezbollah in its statement of support for Trump’s tougher stance.
Saudi Arabia and Iran back warring factions in Syria and Yemen, and opposing groups in Lebanon, Bahrain and Iraq.
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2:58 p.m.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says his country «will continue to stick to» the nuclear deal, calling it «much stronger» than U. S. President Donald Trump thinks.
Rouhani made the comments in a speech that aired Friday night on state television.
It came after Trump angrily accused Iran of violating the spirit of the 2015 accord and demanded Congress toughen the law governing U. S. participation. Trump said he is not ready to pull out of the deal but warned he would do so if it is not improved.
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2:57 p.m.
Iran’s government says U. S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran has violated the spirit of the 2015 nuclear deal «has no international relevance or credibility.» Tehran said the deal can’t be renegotiated or altered.
A statement provided by Iran’s U. N. mission says Iran won’t be the first to walk away from the deal, but «if its rights and interests in the deal aren’t respected,» it will resume what it says is a peaceful nuclear program.
Trump’s speech accused Iran of a litany of malign behavior and announced new U. S. anti-terrorism sanctions against Iran’s main military wing, the Revolutionary Guard. Trump also called on U. S. allies to help impose sanctions that would target Iran’s ballistic missile program.
Iran says its missiles are purely defensive and that any U. S. action against the Revolutionary Guard will draw «a strong and unified reciprocal reaction.»
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2:50 p.m.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has congratulated U. S. President Trump for his decision not to re-certify to Congress the Iran nuclear deal.
In a statement released Friday, Netanyahu praised what he called a «courageous decision.» He says Trump has created an opportunity to «fix this bad deal» and to roll back Iran’s aggression. He encouraged all other relevant nations to do the same.
Netanyahu has been a fierce critic of the 2015 deal, which lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for concessions regarding its nuclear program. He has long warned that it failed to address Iran’s support for militant groups who act against Israel.
Iran is Israel’s archenemy and openly calls for its destruction.
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2:40 p.m.
The leaders of Britain, France and Germany say they «stand committed» to the Iran nuclear deal and are «concerned by the possible implications» of a U. S. decision to no longer back it in its current form.
British Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron issued a joint statement Friday night calling the deal «the culmination of 13 years of diplomacy» and «a major step towards ensuring that Iran’s nuclear program is not diverted for military purposes.»
The three leaders are urging the Trump administration and Congress to consider the possible consequences for the West’s security «before taking any steps that might undermine» the deal, including imposing sanctions on Iran that the agreement lifted.
U. S. President Donald Trump announced Friday that he will not re-certify the deal to Congress, and said if Congress can’t come up with new legislation, he will terminate the Obama-era pact.
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2:30 p.m.
The top Democrat in the House is calling President Donald Trump’s refusal to certify that Iran is complying with the nuclear agreement «a grave mistake.»
Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California says Trump’s decision threatens U. S. security and credibility.
She says Trump ignored «the overwhelming consensus of nuclear scientists, national security experts, generals and his own Cabinet, including, reportedly, his secretary of defense and secretary of state.»
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told a Senate committee last week that it’s in the national security interests of the United States to stay a part of the international accord.
She says America’s allies in Europe have no intention of leaving the seven-nation pact.
Pelosi says if Trump’s judgment leads to an unraveling of the deal, it’ll be the United States that’s isolated, not Iran.
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2:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump says that if Congress doesn’t come up with satisfactory changes to the Iran nuclear deal in a «very short» period of time then he’s prepared to «terminate» it.
Trump tells reporters following a White House speech that he’s «very unhappy with Iran.» He says the country «has to behave much differently.»
Trump is not withdrawing from the deal but instead has asked Congress to come up with a fix. It’s an approach that he defended.
Trump says, «I like the two step process much better.»
Still, he says, he may choose to pull out at a later date: «We’ll see what happens over the next short period of time.
