Tillerson Denies Reports of U.S. Intent to Abrogate Iran Nuclear Deal

Rex Tillerson, the U.S. Secretary of State, stated that he did not say during a meeting with his French counterpart that Washington intends to tear up the nuclear deal with Iran. According to Reuters, Mr. Tillerson reacted on Thursday evening, February 16, to comments made by the French Foreign Minister, who said Paris feels Washington wants to annul the nuclear agreement with Iran, asserting, 'I have not held such an opinion.' Rex Tillerson and Jean-Marc Ayrault, the French Foreign Minister, met on Thursday on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Bonn, Germany, after which Mr. Ayrault stated that Paris and Washington's views on the Iran nuclear deal are clearly different, and Washington wants to review and annul this agreement. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has repeatedly attacked this agreement, stating during his election campaign that he would tear it up if he won the election. Rex Tillerson also mentioned in meetings last month with members of the U.S. Congress that while he does not call for the annulment of this agreement, he wants to conduct a thorough review of it. However, Iran insists that it will not allow a review of the nuclear agreement, emphasizing that this agreement is multilateral and not a bilateral agreement with the U.S. Meanwhile, European Union officials, supporting the nuclear agreement, state that the new U.S. government cannot annul this agreement. Iran and six world powers reached an agreement last July regarding the resolution of Tehran's nuclear activities, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or the Vienna Agreement. Under this agreement, Iran suspended many of its nuclear activities, and as of last December, international sanctions against it have been lifted or suspended.