Trump expected to extend Iran sanctions relief, keeping nuclear deal intact

US President Donald Trump will extend sanctions relief granted to Iran under its 2015 nuclear deal with the United States and other world powers, thereby leaving the accord intact for now, according to sources.

However, Trump, who has vowed to scrap the pact, was expected to give the US Congress and European allies a deadline for improving it, the person said. Without improvements, Trump would renew his threat to withdraw from the agreement.

Trump had faced a Friday deadline to decide on whether to waive the sanctions. A decision to withhold a waiver would have effectively ended the deal that limits Iran's nuclear programme. The White House is expected to announce the decision on Friday.

But while Trump approved a sanctions waiver, he also decided to impose new, targeted sanctions on Iran, the person said.

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin also said he expected Trump to impose a separate set of sanctions, according to the BBC, which are likely to target Iranian businesses and people allegedly involved in missile tests, terrorism, and human rights abuses.

Two senior Trump administration officials told Reuters on Wednesday that the president, a Republican, had privately expressed reluctance to heed the advice of top advisers recommending he not reimpose the suspended sanctions.

Trump has argued that his predecessor, President Barack Obama, a Democrat, negotiated a bad deal for the United States in agreeing to the nuclear accord.

Hailed by Obama as key to stopping Iran from building a nuclear bomb, the deal lifted economic sanctions in exchange for Tehran limiting its nuclear ambitions. It was also signed by China, France, Russia, Britain, Germany and the European Union.

European pressure

Russia spoke out strongly Friday in favour of the accord, ahead of the announcement of Trump's decision, calling it "the result of a consensus among many parties," in the words of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

The accord, he added can be considered "either good or bad but it is the only one that reflects this consensus," Peskov added at a press conference.

French President Emmanuel Macron called Trump on Thursday and stressed France's determination to see "the strict application of the deal and the importance of all the signatories to respect it."

Trump had come under heavy pressure from European allies to issue the sanctions waiver.

Iran says its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes. It has said it will stick to the accord as long as the other signatories respect it, but will "shred" the deal if Washington pulls out.

The US Congress requires the president to decide periodically whether to certify Iran's compliance with the deal and issue a waiver to allow US sanctions to remain suspended.

Trump in October chose not to certify compliance and warned he might ultimately terminate the accord. He accused Iran of "not living up to the spirit" of the agreement even though the International Atomic Energy Agency says Tehran is complying.

Hardliners on Iran in the US Congress have called for the reimposition of the suspended sanctions and an end to the nuclear deal, while some liberal Democrats want to pass legislation that would make it harder for Trump to pull Washington out without congressional consent.

Trump and his top advisers have been negotiating with US lawmakers on Capitol Hill to try to change sanctions legislation so that he does not face a deadline on whether to recertify Iranian compliance with the nuclear deal every 90 days.

Senate foreign relations committee chairman Bob Corker has been working on amending a US law to include "trigger points" that if crossed by Iran would automatically bring back US sanctions.