Brussels, Oct 13 (AFP) NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg todayrefused to intervene in the row over the Iran nuclear deal,but said the alliance had concerns about Tehran's "continuousdevelopment of missile capabilities".
US President Donald Trump is set to "decertify" thelandmark 2015 agreement which curtailed Iran's nuclearprogramme in return for sanctions relief, leaving lawmakers todecide whether to withdraw completely.
Stoltenberg refused to be drawn on whether he thought thedeal was working, but stressed that compliance with itsconditions 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 IAEAto make that kind of assessment," he told AFP in an interview.
And he reiterated NATO concerns about issues not coveredin the deal, in particular Iran's ballistic missile programme.
"The nuclear deal covers the development of nuclearweapons but it doesn't cover missile programmes and we areconcerned about the continuous development of missilecapabilities of Iran," he said.
Trump has derided the agreement as "the worst deal" andaccused Tehran of not living up to the "spirit" of it, but UNinspectors say Iran is meeting the technical requirements ofits side of the bargain. International allies, particularlythe EU, have lobbied for it to stay, arguing that it iseffective.
But last month Iran said it had successfully tested a newmedium-range missile with a range of 2,000 kilometres capableof carrying multiple warheads, in defiance of warnings fromWashington.
A decision by Trump to decertify the deal would leave itat grave risk, with the US Congress having 60 days to decidewhether to re-impose specific sanctions on Tehran that werelifted because of the diplomatic pact.
It would risk unpicking 12 years of careful diplomacybetween Iran and six world powers -- Britain, China, France,Germany, Russia and the US -- who crafted the deal. (AFP)RB.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.