Trump to give verdict on Iran nuclear deal

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Donald Trump appears poised to drive a stake through the heart of the Iran nuclear deal Tuesday, when he announces his verdict on US sanctions relief underpinning the landmark accord.

Officials and diplomats expect the pugnacious US leader to ignore last-ditch European pleas and move to withdraw the United States from a 2015 agreement, which he insists was ‘‘very badly negotiated.’’

Trump has, unsuccessfully, demanded changes to the Obama-era deal, which saw Iran mothball a suspected nuclear weapons program in return for massive sanctions relief.

Months of intensive talks between the United States and European allies now appear deadlocked, with Berlin, London and Paris refusing to rewrite the agreement.

The president tweeted he would announce his decision at 2:00 p.m. (1800 GMT), even as British foreign secretary Boris Johnson shuttled around Washington to reach a lastgasp breakthrough.

One European diplomat echoed the mood around foreign embassies in Washington, saying “there is plainly a difference of opinion,’’ acknowledging Trump seems poised to walk away.

Concretely, the US president will now to decide whether to continue to waive sanctions on Iran’s central bank and its oil sector dealings, a key pillar of the agreement.

Trump’s decision to scrap sanctions relief would have global ramifications, straining Iran’s al- ready crisis-racked economy, heightening tensions in the Middle East and laying bare the biggest transatlantic rift since the Iraq War.