White House: Iran adhering to nuke deal, but fresh sanctions likely for non-nuclear activities

"Iran is complying with the letter of the nuclear deal but not its spirit, the White House said Monday, as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson certified to Congress that Tehran was abiding by the terms of the pact.

During a conference call with reporters, a senior administration official said that while the US verified the conditions of the agreement have been met, the Iranian regime's non-nuclear behavior poses multiple threats to US interests and foments instability in the region, actions that will likely lead to fresh sanctions. 'We do expect that we will be implementing new sanctions,' he said...

'The president and the secretary of state judge that these Iranian activities severely undermine the JCPOA,' he added, using the initials for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the deal's formal name. 'As a result, the president and the secretary of state judge that Iran is unquestionably in default of the spirit of the JCPOA.'

Iran's 'ballistic missile testing and development, support for terrorism, complicity in the atrocities committed by the Assad regime against the Syrian people ... numerous human rights violations and arbitrary detainment of foreigners' were listed as unacceptable. Also cited was Tehran's 'continuing hostility of Israel' and its 'cyber attacks against the United States and Israel,' the official said..."