Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned on Friday that if the United States backs out of the Iran nuclear agreement, the entire accord will “fall apart”.

“This agreement cannot be implemented if one of the participants unilaterally steps out of it,” Lavrov was quoted by Newsweek as saying at a press conference at UN headquarters. “It will fall apart, there will be no deal then.”

Iran and six world powers, including the U.S., UK, France, Russia, China and Germany, struck the nuclear deal, also called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, on July 14, 2015. The JCPOA put some restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

If the deal does not come through, it would spill over into how the North Korean threat is handled, Lavrov warned.

“If this Iranian deal becomes a token in geopolitical games, how can we ask North Korea to use the same option?” he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the JCPOA, calling it the “worst deal ever”. He has also threatened to exit the deal.

MH/PA