Tillerson, Zarif in first meeting with partners on Iran nuclear deal

[UNITED NATIONS] US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson joined Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the United Nations on Wednesday for a first meeting with partners backing the Iran nuclear deal.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini is chairing the closed-door meeting to discuss the 2015 deal that President Donald Trump has threatened to scrap unless it is re-opened for negotiations.

Mr Trump is due to report to the US Congress by Oct 15 on whether he can certify that Iran is upholding its side of the accord, under which it accepted limits on its nuclear programme.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump told reporters that he had reached a decision, but did not elaborate.

"I have decided. I'll let you know what the decision is," he said.

Under the nuclear deal, Iran surrendered much of its enriched uranium, dismantled a reactor and submitted nuclear sites to UN inspection, while Washington and Europe lifted some sanctions.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told the UN General Assembly earlier that the nuclear deal was endorsed by the UN Security Council and its fate could not be decided by "one or two countries".

Mr Trump in his speech a day earlier called the nuclear deal "an embarrassment" for the United States and Mr Tillerson later confirmed that the agreement must be "revisited".

AFP