Nobel Laureate group urges Trump to stick to Iran nuclear deal

Tuesday, 10 October 2017 12:00 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 10 October 2017 4:01 PM ]

Nuclear disarmament group International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) executive director Beatrice Fihn (2nd left), attends a press conference on October 6, 2017 in New York. (Photos by AFP)

A Nobel prize-winning nuclear weapons disarmament campaign group has called on US President Donald Trump to honor his commitment to Iran’s nuclear deal.

"We really call on the US government to continue to certify and stay in this deal," said the director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) Beatrice Fihn, on Monday. ICAN won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.

The deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was struck in July 2015 and began being implemented in January the next year. Apart from Iran and the US, the other parties to the agreement are France, Russia, Germany, China, and the UK.

US President Donald Trump has long despised the deal in part because he perceived it as a legacy of Democratic former President Barack Obama. Since taking office a year after the deal took effect, the Trump administration has twice certified Iranian compliance under the specific American law that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is now reportedly planning to amend.

Nuclear disarmament group International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) executive director Beatrice Fihn answers a question during a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York on October 9, 2017.

Those two certifications have been offered only half-heartedly, and indications are that a third one — due shortly in mid-October — may not be forthcoming.

"This is not really what the world needs right now... We see no evidence that Iran is not complying with it," added Fihn.

Earlier in the day, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and many world leaders unanimously threw their weight behind the JCPOA, rejecting Trump’s claims that Tehran has violated the “spirit” of the deal.

PressTV-IAEA, world leaders defy US on Iran nuclear deal

The IAEA and leaders of world's major powers unanimously support the JCPOA and reject the US president’s accusations against Tehran.

Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limitations on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.

Since the JCPOA Implementation Day, the IAEA has been verifying and monitoring Iran’s compliance with its nuclear-related commitments under the nuclear deal and has consistently verified the Islamic Republic’s compliance.

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