TEHRAN – Former U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest J. Moniz has warned of the consequences of the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal, saying it would be a present to Tehran.

“If we walk away from the #IranAgreement, what we do is we give Iran a present,” he tweeted on Monday.

Moniz, a nuclear physicist who played a crucial role in negotiations crafting the nuclear deal, also said “walking away from the Iran nuclear agreement would be a lose-lose situation for the United States.”

The nuclear deal, or the JCPOA, was struck between Iran and six world powers in July 2015.

MH/PA