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Iran May Revise Cooperation With IAEA Over US Stance on Nuclear Deal

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Iranian Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi warned that the country may reconsider its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over US refusal to implement the Iranian nuclear deal, local media reported on Monday.
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The statement was made during Salehi's phone conversation with IAEA head Yukiya Amano, the IRNA news agency reported.

Earlier in the day, the Iranian Foreign Ministry warned that Tehran would give a harsh response to the possible US withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal. Kamal Kharrazi, the head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, warned that prolongation of US sanctions on Iran was equivalent to Washington's withdrawal from the deal.

READ MORE: Trump Will Likely Abandon the Nuclear Deal With Iran — Analyst

On Friday, US State Secretary Rex Tillerson said in an interview with the AP news agency that the US lawmakers were working on a draft legislation that would amend the conditions, enabling Washington to remain in the Iranian nuclear deal. The changes follow US President Donald Trump's order "to fix it or cancel," Tillerson added. The amendments are expected to be made this week.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, left, meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, in Vienna, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, on what is expected to be "implementation day," the day the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verifies that Iran has met all conditions under the nuclear deal.

In July 2015, the European Union, Iran and the P5+1 group of nations comprising the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom plus Germany signed the nuclear deal that stipulated a gradual lifting of sanctions imposed on Tehran in exchange for guarantees of peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program.

In October 2017, Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to halt the Iranian nuclear deal, said that his administration had decided not to certify that Iran was in compliance with the accord. He noted that the White House and Congress would work on the "serious flaws" of the deal, adding that if Washington's efforts to "improve" the agreement failed, the country would withdraw from the accord.

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