Last updated 16:32, May 9 2018
ROSA WOODS/STUFF
Jacinda Ardern wants an Iran deal to continue in some form.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is keen to an accord of some form in place.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she wants some kind of deal with Iran to continue, even though the US has withdrawn from the Iran nuclear accord.
US President Donald Trump has been highly critical of the 2015 deal, under which Iran limited its nuclear activities, and during an announcement on Tuesday (Wednesday, NZT) he called it "defective at its core".
Trump said he would take steps to leavethe deal and re-impose all sanctions on Iran that had been lifted - not just the ones facing an immediate deadline.
Jacinda Ardern wants an Iran deal to continue in some form.
During a Tuesday morning news conference, Ardern said the deal made for "a more stable, predictable Middle East".
President Donald Trump has announced the US was withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal.
"There's no point criticising it [the deal] for what it didn't do, when that may not have been the original intent of the deal.
"I think it is clear that it has provided a greater sense of security and stability in the Middle East. That's why I hope some form of deal does remains, because we're better off with one than with the absence of one.
"New Zealand has always made its view on nuclear proliferation very clear, whether it's Iran, whether it's North Korea. The world is a safe place when we ensure there is a halt to the proliferation of nuclear weapons."
The Foreign Minister says it's a concern that there is not international unity on this issue.
EU powers see the deal as the best way to stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his government was committed to a nuclear deal with world powers.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters told 1 News Trump's decision was a worry, "but I don't think it's impossible to get a better deal out of the Iranians".
"I hope that's the case, because it's a very, very concerning development."
National Party leader Simon Bridges says the world is a little less certain now.
Opposition leader Simon Bridges said that although the deal may not have been perfect, "it seemed to be making progress" and now "we've got uncertainty".
"With an agreement like this, that's been hard fought for, that is complex, that's come together with Iran - to see their [Iran's] nuclear capability decrease, to see them stock less uranium - we would want to see that endure across administrations.
"The real issue with what Trump has done here, is he has pulled back from that. There's lurch, if you like, in the policy settings.
Describing it as "defective at its core" Donald Trump has pulled the United States out of the Iran Nuclear Deal.
"On balance, while he's got his arguments and says he's got very clear evidence for where he's at, that does make the world just somewhat less safe today than it was.
Bridges said he was on the side of European leaders, who want want to see see some sort of deal continue.