US President Donald Trump signed a document reinstating sanctions against Iran on May 8
CAIRO - 9 May 2018: World powers vowed Wednesday to uphold a landmark deal curbing Iran's nuclear programme after President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement, raising fears of a fresh confrontation with Tehran.
Trump's decision to ditch the accord and reimpose sanctions on the Islamic republic risks overturning years of painstaking diplomacy, worsening instability in the Middle East and threatens foreign companies' business in Iran worth billions of dollars.
Iran reacted furiously, with lawmakers burning a US flag and chanting "Death to America" in the Iranian parliament. But its regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Israel applauded the US move.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran too should quit the nuclear deal unless Europeans offer solid guarantees that trade relations would continue.
"If you don't succeed in obtaining a definitive guarantee -- and I really doubt that you can -- at that moment, we cannot continue like this," he told Iran's government in a televised speech.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Iran's Hassan Rouhani agreed on Wednesday to work toward the continued implementation of the nuclear deal despite the US decision, which Macron called "a mistake".
Other signatories, including major trade partner Beijing, promised to work to keep the accord in place.
China insisted it would maintain "normal economic and trade exchanges with Tehran" and "continue to devote itself to safeguard and implement the deal".
Earlier German Chancellor Angela Merkel said European signatories would "do everything" to ensure the agreement's parameters remain in place.
- Iran 'upholding commitments' -
Slapping aside more than a decade and a half of diplomacy by Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia and past US administrations, Trump called Tuesday for a "new and lasting deal".
He described the accord as an "embarrassment" to the United States that did nothing to contain Iran's nuclear ambitions.
But the UN's nuclear watchdog, which is charged with ensuring Iran abides by the terms of the deal, said Wednesday Tehran was upholding its "nuclear-related commitments".
"Iran is subject to the world's most robust nuclear verification regime," said International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Yukiya Amano.
Trump said a deal with Iran would have to include not just deeper restrictions on its nuclear programme, but on its ballistic missiles and support for militant groups across the Middle East.
"We will not allow a regime that chants 'Death to America' to gain access to the most deadly weapons on Earth," he said.
In response, Rouhani warned Iran could resume uranium enrichment "without limit".
But he also said Iran would discuss its response with other parties to the deal before announcing a decision.
Iran has always denied seeking a nuclear weapon, insisting its atomic programme was for civilian purposes.
Doubling down on Wednesday, Trump told reporters at the White House there would be "very severe consequences" if Iran were to resume its nuclear enrichment programme, which the 2015 deal curbed in exchange for sanctions relief.
- Oil rallies -
Trump's decision marked a stark diplomatic defeat for Europe, whose leaders urged the US president to think again.
US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis insisted Wednesday that the US would keep working with its allies to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons -- despite Trump's withdrawal from a deal designed to do that.
"We will continue to work alongside our allies and partners to ensure that Iran can never acquire a nuclear weapon, and will work with others to address the range of Iran's malign influence," Mattis told a Senate panel.
Macron, who in recent weeks made a deliberately public effort to talk Trump around, said in an interview with German media that it was vital for the deal's other parties to reaffirm their commitment.
"The Europeans' decision allows us to prevent Iran from immediately restarting their (nuclear) activities and to avoid escalating tensions," Macron said.
Rouhani for his part said Iran's economic interests would however need to be "guaranteed" in light of Trump's decision, the Iranian presidency's website said.
Trump's advisor John Bolton said earlier that European firms doing business in Iran have a six-month deadline to wind up investments or risk US sanctions.
The move offers Trump a domestic victory, fulfilling a longstanding campaign promise. Oil prices on Wednesday hit their highest levels for three and a half years.
But the long-term impact for US foreign policy and for the Middle East was less clear.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the United States will "lose in the end" from its decision, while Russia's Vladimir Putin expressed his country's "deep concern" over the US withdrawal.
Some analysts warned the move would also complicate US efforts to reach an agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over his country's own more advanced weapons programme.
Former CIA director John Brennan said Trump's move "gave North Korea more reason to keep its nukes".
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