UN chief says Iran nuclear deal must be preserved

UNITED NATIONS, April 26 (APP):UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres believes that Iran’s nuclear agreement must be preserved, his spokesman has said.
The secretary-general believes that the Iran nuclear deal is “very important and it should be maintained,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in response to a question at the regular noon briefing.
But he added: “We must build on this important achievement to preserve the non-proliferation regime which is a cornerstone of our global security.”
Guterres met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday to discuss the landmark 2015 deal that calls for curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
The agreement was endorsed in a resolution adopted by the Security Council.
During an interview with The Associated Press, an American news agency, on Tuesday, Zarif said Iran will mostly likely abandon the 2015 nuclear deal should the United States choose to withdraw from the multilateral agreement.
“If the United States were to withdraw from the nuclear deal, the immediate consequence in all likelihood will be that Iran will reciprocate and withdraw,” Zarif said.
“There won’t be any deal for Iran to stay in.”
US President Donald Trump has often vowed to pull the United States out of the 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, which was negotiated under his predecessor, Barack Obama.