US Wrong Move on Nuclear Deal Will Have Consequences

The Leader of Islamic Revolution warned the US that any wrong move regarding the 2015 nuclear deal will prompt Iran's reaction, describing Washington's attempts at rescinding the pact as the ultimate "brazenness and shamelessness".

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei made the statement in a graduation ceremony of police cadets in Tehran on Sunday, the Leader's website reported.

The Leader said Iran was firm on settling the nuclear dispute in talks with world powers and Iranian negotiators even gave up part of Iran's rights to conclude the deal, yet the US approach to the outcome of two years of negotiations is totally "cruel and bullying".

"Each day, they make a mischief and take an evil action," the Leader said, referring to measures against the deal by the administration of US President Donald Trump who intends to ditch the multilateral pact and blame Iran for it.   

Trump has frequently hammered the accord and is currently seeking ways to stop fulfilling its end of the bargain.

US officials have been arguing in recent months that Iran's alleged support for terrorism in the region and its ballistic missiles tests are violations of the "spirit" of the nuclear deal, both of which have nothing to do with the nuclear deal.

Trump has said he expects to declare Iran non-compliant to its deal obligations without any evidence in mid-October, the next quarterly deadline for the US State Department to notify the Congress of Iran's compliance with the accord.

If he does so, Congress will have 60 days to decide whether to re-impose unilateral US sanctions that were suspended when the deal went into effect in January 2016.

Ayatollah Khamenei said Iranian officials must prove to the "corrupt, liar and cheater" US that Iran would never submit to them.

"Americans should know that the Iranian nation will honorably and strongly hold their ground, and on matters concerning national interest, retreat is not an option for the Islamic Republic," he said.

President Hassan Rouhani said last month Iran could within days return its nuclear work to a level much more advanced than the beginning of nuclear talks in 2013, if the US keeps expanding anti-Iran sanctions.