AFP, Brussels :
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Friday refused to intervene in the row over the Iran nuclear deal, but said the alliance had concerns about Tehran’s “continuous development of missile capabilities”.
US President Donald Trump is set to “decertify” the landmark 2015 agreement which curtailed Iran’s nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief, leaving lawmakers to decide whether to withdraw completely.
Stoltenberg refused to be drawn on whether he thought the deal was working, but stressed that compliance with its conditions was essential if it was to have any meaning.
“It is not for NATO to make assessments about compliance, that’s for nations that are part of the agreement and the IAEA to make that kind of assessment,” he told AFP in an interview.
And he reiterated NATO concerns about issues not covered in the deal, in particular Iran’s ballistic missileprogramme.
“The nuclear deal covers the development of nuclear weapons but it doesn’t cover missile programmes and we are concerned about the continuous development of missile capabilities of Iran,” he said.
Trump has derided the agreement as “the worst deal” and accused Tehran of not living up to the “spirit” of it, but UN inspectors say Iran is meeting the technical requirements of its side of the bargain. International allies, particularly the EU, have lobbied for it to stay, arguing that it is effective.
But last month Iran said it had successfully tested a new medium-range missile with a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) capable of carrying multiple warheads, in defiance of warnings from Washington.
A decision by Trump to decertify the deal would leave it at grave risk, with the US Congress having 60 days to decide whether to re-impose specific sanctions on Tehran that were lifted because of the diplomatic pact.
It would risk unpicking 12 years of careful diplomacy between Iran and six world powers-Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US-who crafted the deal.
Meanwhile, military intervention against North Korea would have “devastating consequences”, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned Friday, after US President Donald Trump said diplomatic efforts had failed.
Tensions over North Korea’s weapons programmes have soared in recent months, with Pyongyang launching a flurry of missiles and conducting its sixth and most powerful nuclear test last month in defiance of international sanctions.
Trump’s continued threats of military action against Pyongyang to tame its weapons ambitions have fuelled fears of conflict on the Korean peninsula and next week the US and South Korea will begin a major naval drill as a show of force against the North.
Stoltenberg, who will visit South Korea and Japan in the coming weeks as a show of support, stressed that Washington had the right to defend itself and its allies, but called for greater diplomatic efforts.
“The use of military force will have devastating consequences, I think nobody really wants that, therefore we need to continue to push for a negotiated solution,” Stoltenberg said in an interview at NATO HQ in Brussels.
“The US has the right to defend itself, to defend its allies, but at same time I am absolutely certain no one wants a military solution, so we still see a united effort to try to step up the pressure against North Korea.”
Trump met his national security team on Tuesday and discussed a “range of options” to respond to Pyongyang’s repeated recent nuclear and ballistic missile tests.
The meeting came days after Trump, who last month threatened to “destroy” North Korea, said on Twitter that years of talks with Pyongyang had achieved nothing and “only one thing will work”.
Next week’s naval drills in the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea will feature the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier and two US destroyers alongside South Korean Navy vessels, part of a flurry of military hardware movement in the region in recent days.
Earlier this week two supersonic US heavy bombers flew over the Korean peninsula, staging the first night-time joint aviation exercises with Japan and South Korea, the latest in a series of flyovers.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Friday refused to intervene in the row over the Iran nuclear deal, but said the alliance had concerns about Tehran’s “continuous development of missile capabilities”.
US President Donald Trump is set to “decertify” the landmark 2015 agreement which curtailed Iran’s nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief, leaving lawmakers to decide whether to withdraw completely.
Stoltenberg refused to be drawn on whether he thought the deal was working, but stressed that compliance with its conditions was essential if it was to have any meaning.
“It is not for NATO to make assessments about compliance, that’s for nations that are part of the agreement and the IAEA to make that kind of assessment,” he told AFP in an interview.
And he reiterated NATO concerns about issues not covered in the deal, in particular Iran’s ballistic missileprogramme.
“The nuclear deal covers the development of nuclear weapons but it doesn’t cover missile programmes and we are concerned about the continuous development of missile capabilities of Iran,” he said.
Trump has derided the agreement as “the worst deal” and accused Tehran of not living up to the “spirit” of it, but UN inspectors say Iran is meeting the technical requirements of its side of the bargain. International allies, particularly the EU, have lobbied for it to stay, arguing that it is effective.
But last month Iran said it had successfully tested a new medium-range missile with a range of 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) capable of carrying multiple warheads, in defiance of warnings from Washington.
A decision by Trump to decertify the deal would leave it at grave risk, with the US Congress having 60 days to decide whether to re-impose specific sanctions on Tehran that were lifted because of the diplomatic pact.
It would risk unpicking 12 years of careful diplomacy between Iran and six world powers-Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the US-who crafted the deal.
Meanwhile, military intervention against North Korea would have “devastating consequences”, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned Friday, after US President Donald Trump said diplomatic efforts had failed.
Tensions over North Korea’s weapons programmes have soared in recent months, with Pyongyang launching a flurry of missiles and conducting its sixth and most powerful nuclear test last month in defiance of international sanctions.
Trump’s continued threats of military action against Pyongyang to tame its weapons ambitions have fuelled fears of conflict on the Korean peninsula and next week the US and South Korea will begin a major naval drill as a show of force against the North.
Stoltenberg, who will visit South Korea and Japan in the coming weeks as a show of support, stressed that Washington had the right to defend itself and its allies, but called for greater diplomatic efforts.
“The use of military force will have devastating consequences, I think nobody really wants that, therefore we need to continue to push for a negotiated solution,” Stoltenberg said in an interview at NATO HQ in Brussels.
“The US has the right to defend itself, to defend its allies, but at same time I am absolutely certain no one wants a military solution, so we still see a united effort to try to step up the pressure against North Korea.”
Trump met his national security team on Tuesday and discussed a “range of options” to respond to Pyongyang’s repeated recent nuclear and ballistic missile tests.
The meeting came days after Trump, who last month threatened to “destroy” North Korea, said on Twitter that years of talks with Pyongyang had achieved nothing and “only one thing will work”.
Next week’s naval drills in the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea will feature the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier and two US destroyers alongside South Korean Navy vessels, part of a flurry of military hardware movement in the region in recent days.
Earlier this week two supersonic US heavy bombers flew over the Korean peninsula, staging the first night-time joint aviation exercises with Japan and South Korea, the latest in a series of flyovers.
