Nuclear deal: US climbs down

BUT WHITE HOUSE INSISTS IT IS NOT GOING SOFT ON IRAN ‘Possibilities for engagement have always been open.’

Donald Trump has backed away from a campaign promise to scrap a major nuclear security deal with Iran, with officials saying the agreement and related sanctions relief will stay in place for now.

The Trump administration faced a new congressional deadline on Monday to say whether Iran has curbed its nuclear weapons programme in line with the accord.

Under the terms of the two-year-old agreement, Tehran scaled back production of nuke-making material in return for massive sanctions relief.

“The conditions,” according to one official at the White House, “have been met, based on information available to the US.”

The 2015 agreement rests on a series of technical benchmarks, and was seen in Washington as a way of avoiding military action.

But it has not relieved tensions between Tehran and Washington, which continue to clash, particularly over conflicts in the Middle East like Syria and Yemen, where Iran-backed militias hold clout.

In his election campaign Trump denounced the deal reached under former president Barack Obama and promised to renegotiate it and get tough on Iran.

Trump has now twice affirmed Iran’s compliance since taking office, effectively keeping the deal in place.

But the White House took pains to stress it was not going soft on Iran, pointing to new nonnuclear sanctions and stricter implementation of the deal.

An official added: “We do expect that we will be implementing new sanctions that pertain to Iran’s ballistic missile programme and fast boat programme.

“Iran remains one of the most dangerous threats to US interests and regional stability,” the official said.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad