US envoy urges Trump to preserve Iran’s nuclear deal

Samantha Power told reporters at the UN on Friday that the Iran nuclear agreement is “working” and Trump would be “very wise to preserve” it.

Trump, who will begin his presidency on January 20, has threatened to either dismantle the nuclear agreement or seek a better deal.

Trump’s pick for US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, said Wednesday he would recommend a "full review" of the nuclear accord, though he did not call for an outright rejection of it.

Iran has repeatedly said that the deal is not negotiable.

On Friday, Iran’s deputy foreign minister Majid Takhte Ravanchy reiterated that Tehran will not allow any new nuclear case to be opened against the country.

The nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was clinched between Iran and the P5+1 group – the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany – in July 2015.

According to the accord, which came into force in January 2016, the six world powers committed to lifting nuclear-relation sanctions against Iran and the Islamic Republic agreed to limit its nuclear work in certain areas.

The Iranian diplomat further said that at a recent session of the JCPOA oversight committee, known as the Joint Commission, all participants stressed that no country would be allowed to affect the deal’s implementation.

KD