Tehran has plans to respond to any move by US President Donald Trump against the 2015 nuclear agreement, President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday.
“We have plans to resist any decision by Trump on the nuclear accord,” he said in a speech carried live on state TV.
“Orders have been issued to our atomic energy organization and to the economic sector to confront America’s plots against our country,” he told a public rally in northeast Iran.
“America would be making a mistake if it leaves the nuclear accord,” the president said.
Trump has said unless European allies rectify “flaws” in Tehran’s nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with world powers by May 12, he will refuse to extend US sanctions relief for Iran.
Britain, France and Germany remain committed to the nuclear accord but, in an effort to keep Washington on board, want to open talks on Iran’s ballistic missile program, its nuclear activities beyond 2025–when key provisions of the deal expire–and its role in Middle East crises such as the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
“We will not negotiate with anyone about our weapons and defenses, and we will make and store as many weapons, facilities and missiles as we deem necessary,” Rouhani said, reiterating the rejection by senior officials in Tehran of talks on the missile program which is geared to defense needs.
Tehran says it needs the missiles for deterrence because it is located in a volatile region that has seen many wars in the past, including one full-fledged invasion by Iraq in the 1980s.
"It's for 15 months that Trump is repeatedly condemning the JCPOA as the worst agreement in the history of the United States," Rouhani noted, adding that "the entire world has commended Iran's commitment and logic related to resolving the nuclear issue, except for the US administration, the Zionist regime and Saudi Arabia".
***International Lobbying
Trump spoke on phone with Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May on Saturday on issues including the nuclear deal, Reuters reported.
In the call with May, Trump “underscored his commitment to ensure that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon,” the White House said.
Iran has denied its nuclear program has any military dimension.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is traveling to Washington on Sunday for a two-day visit, when he will meet Vice President Mike Pence and national security adviser John Bolton, for talks on Iran, North Korea, Syria and other issues, Britain said.
Benjamin Netanyahu will call on Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday in Moscow to discuss regional issues, the Israeli prime minister said in a statement on Saturday.
Israel has been lobbying world powers to “fix or nix” a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
On Thursday, Israel’s defense minister reminded Russia of his government’s decision not to join western sanctions against it, and asked that Moscow reciprocate with a more pro-Israel approach to Syria and Iran.
Moscow has repeatedly said it wants the Iran nuclear deal left intact. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday Russia would deem any changes to the deal to be unacceptable.
