Europe backs Iran deal, Saudis hail Trump's move

Political leaders around the world have weighed in on US President Donald Trump's decision to decertify the nuclear deal with Iran.

Officials in the US and Europe, as well as in the Middle East, have both praised and criticised the president's strategy on the international nuclear agreement.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani responded shortly after Mr Trump spoke.

"Today the United States is more than ever opposed to the nuclear deal and more than ever against the Iranian people," he said.

In a written statement, the Islamic Republican of Iran proclaimed Mr Trump's action "proves once again that the United States is not a reliable negotiating partner".

The president's announcement now leaves it up to Congress to decide upon new sanctions to impose on Iran.

The European Union's Federica Mogherini said the current deal is "working and delivering", adding that the rest of the world would work to preserve the agreement.

The foreign affairs policy-maker also criticised Mr Trump's unilateral action, contending the deal is not a domestic issue and is not in the hands of any one president to terminate.

British Prime Minister Theresa May released a joint statement with France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Angela Merkel, saying they are "concerned by the possible implications".

"We stand committed to the [deal] and its full implementation by all sides", they wrote, adding that it "is in our shared national security interest".

"We look to Iran to engage in constructive dialogue to stop de-stabilising actions and work towards negotiated solutions," the statement said.

Mr Macron also said the latest developments "will not put an end to the Iranian nuclear accord, and that together all the parties in France and its European partners will continue to meet their commitments".

He added that he was considering visiting Tehran after speaking by phone with President Rouhani.

In a statement, the Russian foreign ministry stressed on the "inadmissibility of using aggressive and threatening rhetoric in international relations", saying Moscow "remains committed" to the deal.

The statement added that "there can be no question of any resumption of sanctions by the UN Security Council".

Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, quickly slammed Mr Trump's decision "to throw this hand grenade in the lap of Congress".

"He doesn't have to blow up this deal this way," he said.

Democratic lawmaker Adam Schiff described the White House strategy as "alienating our allies... all part of the new Trump doctrine: Lead from Behind".

Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse said Mr Trump is "casting aside concern for the safety of the American people and our allies just to erase a victory for his predecessor".

"That is not putting America first," he added.

In a joint statement released by the Congressional Homeland Security Committee, several Republicans cheered Mr Trump and pledged to work with him to "hold Iran strictly accountable to its commitments, and support efforts to counter all the Iranian threats".

Republican lawmakers Ed Royce, Kevin McCarthy, Mac Thornberry and Liz Cheney vowed to submit legislation in the coming weeks intended to "increase sanctions unrelated" to the nuclear deal, which will "target Iran's support for terrorism and its ballistic missile programme".

Former CIA Director John McLaughlin railed against Mr Trump's decision on Twitter, calling it one of his worst ever.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who lobbied against the 2015 deal, was among supporters of Mr Trump's announcement, congratulating him for "boldly [confronting] Iran's terrorist regime".

Mr Trump's action has "created an opportunity to fix this bad deal, to roll back Iran's aggression and to confront its criminal support of terrorism," Mr Netanyahu said in a Facebook video.

Iran, as well as Russia, have threatened to quit the deal if new sanctions are imposed.

Saudi Arabia also congratulated Mr Trump for pulling out of the agreement, which they said had emboldened Iran to step up its support for militant groups and develop its ballistic missile programme.

The United Arab Emirates said it fully supported the new US policy towards Iran, the state news agency WAM tweeted.

Mohamad ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the deal sends a signal to North Korea that the US may not respect international agreements.

"The nuclear-related commitments undertaken by Iran under the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) are being implemented.

"The IAEA's verification and monitoring activities address all the nuclear-related elements under the JCPOA. They are undertaken in an impartial and objective manner and in accordance with the modalities defined by the JCPOA and standard safeguards practice.

"So far, the IAEA has had access to all locations it needed to visit."

Republican voters at the Values Voter summit, a gathering for the Christian evangelical wing of the party, shared the president's sentiment about the Iran deal.