The United States for the time being will stay in an international nuclear deal with Iran, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said on Sunday.
She added that the Trump administration wanted to weigh a “proportionate” response to Tehran’s actions on the world stage.
“I think right now, you’re going to see us stay in the deal. Because what our hope is that we can improve the situation. And that’s the goal,” Ms Haley said referring to worries over Iran’s ballistic missile tests, international arms sales and state-sponsored terrorism.
Ms Haley, interviewed on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” also said the reason the US was looking closely at the Iran nuclear deal was because of escalating tensions over North Korea’s nuclear weapon development.
"What we're saying now with Iran is don't let it become the next North Korea. "
On Friday, US president Donald Trump decertified the 2015 agreement but left the final decision up to its congress.
Mr Trump said Iran had committed “multiple violations of the agreement” and had intimidated international weapons inspectors.
As a result he was decertifying the deal and tasking Congress with addressing the "serious flaws" of the agreement, he said. But he warned that he would scrap the deal if changes to the agreement were not made.
The landmark agreement with Iran was negotiated by seven countries including the US, and saw Iran curtail uranium enrichment and open its nuclear sites to UN weapons inspectors in exchange for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions.
Reuters