Trump ought to know a deal must be honored

In his United Nations General Assembly speech on Tuesday, United States President Donald Trump called the Iran nuclear deal "one of the worst" agreements ever reached by Washington and "an embarrassment" to his country. "We cannot abide by an agreement if it provides cover for the eventual construction of a nuclear program," he said, renewing speculation that he may soon seek to withdraw the US from the deal.

Yet, since it was signed, Iran has been "in technical compliance" with the agreement, as confirmed by the reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog.

Pulling the US out of the deal would not only erode the credibility of the US. It would also deal a heavy blow to the international nuclear non-proliferation drive, and set a bad precedent that would surely hamper the ongoing multinational efforts at finding a peaceful solution to the Korean Peninsula nuclear deadlock through negotiations.