NEW YORK — Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, speaking with Al-Monitor in New York, said that if President Donald Trump withholds the next round of Iran sanctions waivers due May 12, effectively exiting the nuclear deal, Tehran could resume its nuclear program “in a much more advanced way.”
While he did not confirm whether Iran would leave the deal in response, he stressed that an exit by Washington wouldn’t represent a major break from the past. Zarif said the policies Trump has pursued over the past 15 months have stunted the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action's (JCPOA) economic impact on Iran, and thus any decision Tehran makes would be “fully justified by the JCPOA.”