Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has accused the United Statesand France of acting unilaterally in announcing potential plans to reshape a landmark nuclear deal signed between Iranand world powers in 2015.
Rouhani, speaking on Wednesday in Iran’s northwestern city of Tabriz, questioned comments made a day earlier by French President Emmanuel Macron, alongside his US counterpart Donald Trump, regarding a potential “new deal”.
“You [Trump], along with the leader of some European country, are deciding for an agreement reached among seven parties. Who allowed you to do that?” Rouhani said, according to Iran’s Press TV news website.
“I have spoken with Macron several times by phone, and one time in person at length. I have told him explicitly that we will not add anything to the deal or remove anything from it, even one sentence. The nuclear deal is the nuclear deal.”
Referring to the US president – a property tycoon who assumed office in January last year – as someone without “any background in politics … law … [and] international treaties”, Rouhani said: “Donald Trump says this deal is a very bad deal. Well, if it’s a very bad deal, then why did the US government sign it?
He added: “How can a tradesman, a merchant, a building constructor, a tower constructor make judgements about international affairs.”
The Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), eased sanctions on Iran in return for it agreeing that it would not develop nuclear weapons.
The US, Iran, France, Russia, Germany, China, the UK and the European Union are signatories to the agreement.
Rouhani has warned of “severe consequences” should the deal falter. Earlier this month, a senior Iranian official warned that the country could ramp its uranium enrichment to 20 percent on short notice if the US withdrew from the nuclear agreement.
Source – Al Jazeera