A top advisor to the Leader said on Thursday Tehran will not accept any change to its nuclear deal, as western signatories prepare a new package in the hope of persuading US President Donald Trump to stick with the accord.
A May 12 deadline is looming for Trump to decide on whether to reimpose US economic sanctions on Tehran. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday he had discussed a “new deal” with Trump in which the United States and Europe would tackle outstanding concerns about Iran beyond its nuclear program, Reuters reported
“If Trump exits the deal, Iran will surely pull out of it ... Iran will not accept a nuclear deal with no benefits for us,” Ali Akbar Velayati also told journalists.
Under Macron’s proposal, the United States and Europe would agree to block any Iranian nuclear activity until 2025 and beyond, address Iran’s ballistic missile program and generate conditions for a political solution to contain Iran in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.
Trump has said that unless European allies fix the “terrible flaws” in the Iran nuclear deal by May 12, he will refuse to extend US sanctions relief on oil-producing Iran.
Under the nuclear deal with the United States, France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China, Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program to satisfy the powers that it could not be used to develop weapons. In exchange, Iran received relief from sanctions, most of which were lifted in January 2016.
Iran says its nuclear program has only peaceful purposes without any military dimensions. It has long complained that many international companies and banks are still reluctant to working with Tehran, mainly due to backstage pressure from the US.
The EU said it is in full agreement with China and Russia over the need to preserve the deal, but has expressed concerns about Iran’s missile program and role in the Middle East.
“Keeping sanctions on Iran, under any name or pretext, will be unacceptable to Tehran,” Velayati said, adding that making changes to encourage Trump to stay in the deal would make it “ineffective”.
Velayati said Iran had no intention to rein in its influence across the region, as demanded by the United States and its European allies.
“This is our region. We are in our own region and it is legitimate,” he said.
***Trump Expected to Pull Out
Macron said that he thinks Trump will withdraw from the Iran nuclear accord, dealing a blow to the six-nation agreement reached in 2015 and endorsed by world powers.
“My view—I don’t know what your president will decide—is that he will get rid of this deal on his own for domestic reasons,” Macron told journalists on Thursday in Washington, adding that he encouraged the American president to stay in the accord during his three-day visit to the US capital.
"You will have probably, it’s almost sure, a period of tension in such a scenario," he said. “We have to accept that because there is no other option, and it’s the bet of your president that this period of tension could be fruitful because it could push them to move."
Macron later said he had "no insider" information on Trump’s decision regarding the future of the nuclear agreement, which continues to be endorsed by the United Nations and supported by all the other parties to it.
