New York, Oct 7, IRNA – US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will be a major blow to US global ties, acting director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center said in an interview.

Barbara Slavin made the remarks Saturday in an interview with the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

'I am hopeful. If the US leaves the deal, it will be a major blow to transatlantic unity and make it difficult if not impossible to work on Iran policy or much of anything else – Afghanistan, North Korea, etc. — with our closest allies.' she said, answering a question on whether the protests and warnings coming from Democratic lawmakers and the lobbying by European countries are going to be a sufficient deterrent in preventing pulling out of the JCPOA.

In response to a question whether the congress is going to get in line with US President Donald Trump in reinstating sanctions, she said 'Congress does not seem eager to take responsibility for this issue right now at a time when it is struggling to deal with many domestic issues – health care, taxes, etc. Ultimately, it is the president’s responsibility to waive sanctions and he should not want to outsource this to Congress. He may want Congress to remove the requirement that he re-certify Iranian compliance every 90 days. That was intended by a Republican-led Congress to put pressure on a Democratic administration to remain alert to Iranian implementation but it is just an annoyance for Trump.'

Elsewhere Slavin went on to refer to European community foreseeable choices to show reaction to the JCPOA withdrawal, saying 'European governments say they will continue to uphold the JCPOA as long as Iran does. But European businesses will be more hesitant to go into the Iranian market and some companies that have already returned may scale back their investments.'

Elaborating on the effect of this decision on other issues, namely those related to the Middle East, she noted 'a collapse of the JCPOA would certainly not have a positive impact on efforts to end the wars in Syria and Yemen and the rift between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Iran needs to be included in regional diplomacy and there needs to be a solid channel of communication between Washington and Tehran.'

Commenting on North Korea crisis, Slavin said 'North Korea presents its own unique challenges. But the Iran deal has been a model for diplomatic and peaceful resolution of non-proliferation challenges. If it falls apart because of Washington, it will be hard for anyone to trust US promises again and that bodes poorly for resolving the North Korea crisis.'