Presidential Candidate Would Not Linger Over JCPOA

One of the candidates running for Iran's presidency said in case he takes office, he would not hesitate to proceed with the country's activities regardless of how the implementation of the nuclear deal with six world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, unfolds.

Speaking to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting on Monday night, Mostafa Mirsalim added that the deal was reached with an attitude of "heroic flexibility" by the administration, Tasnim News Agency reported. However, he added, the other side, namely P5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain and France, plus Germany), failed to meet their obligations under the agreement.

"Since the JCPOA has been signed [by Iran], we will try to restore our rights, but in proceeding with various activities [of the country], we will not linger over the JCPOA," the presidential hopeful stressed. Iran and the six countries concluded the historic pact in July 2015. The accord took effect in January 2016 and was supposed to terminate all nuclearrelated sanctions against Iran all at once, but its implementation has been hampered mainly by US policies.

Iran's presidential election will be held on May 19. In the previous election in June 2013, Rouhani garnered 50.7% of a total of over 36 million votes. The number of eligible voters in the upcoming election is estimated to be some 1.5 million more than the 50.5 million in the previous poll.