US, EU at odds over uncertain Iran deal

WASHINGTON - European Union leaders on Thursday said they'd re-affirm the Iran nuke deal, despite US President Donald Trump's refusal to recertify the accord. But if Washington pulls out, Iran said it would shred the deal. That leaves the deal in limbo, experts told Xinhua.

According to European press reports on Thursday, EU leaders will re-affirm that they are committed to the international accord of world powers.

That sits in sharp contrast to Trump's stance on the international agreement. Earlier this month, Trump failed to certify that Iran was playing by the rules stipulated in the international accord on Iran's nuclear program, and contended that the Islamic republic is in defiance of the agreement.

Trump has given Congress 60 days to decide whether to reinstate the sanctions on Iran that were lifted under the 2015 accord.

Trump's move neither scraps the deal not saves it, and there's a chance the international accord may remain intact. But the deal's future remains uncertain, and some believe it risks falling apart.

"The nuclear agreement is in danger of collapsing," Jim Phillips, senior Middle East research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told Xinhua

"The Obama Administration promised too much and delivered too little," he said of the previous administration, which put together the deal.

"Then the Democrats in the Senate blocked debate on the merits of the deal and prevented a resolution of disapproval from being voted on, despite the fact that 58 of the 100 senators were opposed to it," he said.

Phillips' outlook for the deal's survival is dim.