The U.S. disarmament ambassador Robert Wood, who is tasked with formalizing amendments to the Iranian nuclear agreement together with representatives of France, Britain and Germany, said “intensive” talks are ongoing ahead of the May 12th deadline. “With regard to Iran, look, we have said and the president’s made very clear. A decision will need to be taken by May 12 with regard to future U.S. participation in the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly known as Iran nuclear agreement). / “We and some of our European friends are trying to work on a supplemental agreement – I think you all are aware of this – to try to deal with some of the major concerns we have about the JCPOA. Those discussions are ongoing, they’re intense, and we’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” US Disarmament Ambassador Robert Wood said.
Ambassador Wood stressed that the United States had concerns about a failure to address Iran’s ballistic missiles program, the 10-year “sunset clause” for limitations on Iran’s nuclear program and Iran’s general aggressive behavior across the Middle East. The American diplomat voiced hope of reaching an agreement with his European counterparts, that would lead to result with which President Trump would be comfortable. “The (U.S.) president (Donald Trump) has made very clear of what we will do if we are unable to deal with some of these questions about ‘sunset’ previsions, about Iran’s overall behavior in the region, it’s ballistic missile program. So, these issues have to be dealt with, and so we’re hopeful that an agreement can be reached that the president will feel comfortable with,” US Disarmament Ambassador Robert Wood said.
In response to the attempt by the Trump Administration to “fix the flaws” of the nuclear agreement, Iran warned the United States last night over “unpleasant” consequences of pulling out of the multinational deal. Iran’s state television quoted the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as claiming that “Iran has several options if the United States leaves the nuclear deal,” while warning that “Tehran’s reaction to America’s withdrawal of the deal will be unpleasant.”