US President Donald Trump has already decided on whether the US should
withdraw from the agreement on Iran's nuclear program or not, but has
not shared his decision "externally", US Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson said on Wednesday.
Talking to reporters at the Hilton Midtown
hotel in New York, Tillerson said that when British Prime Minister
Theresa May asked Trump to share his decision with her, he said "no."
Speaking about the meeting of representatives of the six countries
(Russia, Great Britain, China, the United States, France and Germany)
and Iran on Wednesday at the UN headquarters, Tillerson said that it was
a very frank discussion of issues related to Tehran's implementation of
the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
He noted that Iran
"technically" observes the terms of the agreement on limitation of its
nuclear program.
"Perhaps the technical aspects have [been met], but in the broader context the aspiration has not," he said.
Tillerson
said that the Trump administration is planning further steps to address
Iran’s behavior without falling out of compliance with the deal.
He accused Tehran of military support of Syria’s President Bashar
Assad, of influencing the situation in Yemen and Iraq, as well as of
aggressive actions against US Navy ships in the Persian Gulf
"Since
the agreement has been confirmed we have seen anything but a more
peaceful, stable region," Tillerson said. He also mentioned Iran's cyber
activity and missile tests.
Tillerson said that Washington will
continue to monitor Iran's actions and take additional steps that will
not conflict with the commitments under the JCPOA. He stressed added
that US fully complies with JCPOA.
The agreement on Iran’s nuclear
program was reached between Iran and six international mediators (the
United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia, the United States, and France)
on July 14, 2015.
On January 16, 2016, the parties to the deal
announced beginning of its implementation. Under the deal, Iran
undertakes to curb its nuclear activities and place them under total
control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in exchange of
abandonment of the sanctions imposed previously by the United Nations
Security Council, the European Union and the United States over its
nuclear program.
When asked if the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council on the DPRK are effective, Tillerson said:
"We
have some indications that they are beginning to be evidence of fuel
shortages. We knew these sanctions were going to take some time to be
felt."
Currently, the international sanctions against North Korea
include a weapons embargo, a ban on the supply of aviation fuel to the
country and the purchase of North Korean coal, iron ore, steel, seafood
and other goods.
On September 11, in response to the nuclear test
conducted by Pyongyang a week before, the UN Security Council imposed
new sanctions on the DPRK. In particular they impose a ban on imports of
North Korean textiles, as well as restrictions on the supply of oil and
products of its processing to the country.
According to the US,
along with the restrictions imposed by previous resolutions of the UN
Security Council, the implementation of new sanctions will deprive the
DPRK of more than 90% of revenues from exports of raw materials and
goods, which in 2016 amounted to about $2.7 bln.
