Syria denounces US provocative stance on Iran

Trump’s decertification of the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was “unacceptable,” Syria's state news agency, SANA, quoted an official source at the Arab country’s Foreign and Expatriates Ministry as saying in a statement on Sunday.

The unnamed source added that the US administration’s move “contravenes the international conventions and pacts,” while Iran has strictly committed to the accord, as confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the countries that are signatories to the deal, namely the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the US, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany.

The source said that “Syria condemns the aggressive policies of the US administration against the interests of the people, ... which will increase the atmosphere of tension in the region and the world.” It also said that Damascus slammed the imposition of a fresh array of sanctions against Iran as promised by President Trump on Friday, when he said he refused to certify the JCPOA.

Furthermore, Trump warned that he might ultimately terminate the deal, in defiance of other world powers, undermining a landmark victory for multilateral diplomacy.

While Trump did not pull Washington out of the nuclear deal, he gave the US Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions against Tehran that were lifted under the pact. Reimposing sanctions would put the US at odds with other signatories to the accord and the European Union, which lambasted Trump’s move.

/SR