Source:theguardian.com

Trump Must Not Leave Nuclear Deal, Warns Iran’s Foreign Minister

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The US president Donald Trump has threatened to pull out of the Iran Nuclear Agreement. According to Iran’s Foreign Minister, this could be a serious move which sends a “very dangerous message” about how wise it is to come to terms with the United States.

Source:azertag.az

According to Mohammad Javad Zarif, it is the United States that failed to abide by the rules of the deal, while Iran and six major nations did their part. The agreement stated that Iran would put limits on parts of the nuclear program should the other countries lift the nuclear-related sanctions that were imposed on Iran. This deal was enforced in January two years ago when President Obama was still the President.

“That’s a very dangerous message to send to people of Iran, but also to the people of the world — that you should never come to an agreement with the United States because at the end of the day, the operating principle of the United States is ‘what’s mine is mine, what’s yours is negotiable,’ ” he said. “The situation is creating an impression globally that agreements don’t matter.”

Zarif warned that Iran has multiple options should the United States choose to leave the deal. Iran’s foreign minister attends the United Nations meeting, and he pointed out that one of the possibilities for Iran is to return to the nuclear activities, but there were some more “drastic measures” on the table which he didn’t want to explain further on.

“We will make a decision based on our national security interests when the times comes,” he said. “But whatever that decision will be, it won’t be very pleasant to the United States.”
Trump has criticized this deal, fortunately, he decided to stay in the agreement, at least for now. However, he told the Europeans that they have time until May 12 to fix the “terrible flaws” of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. However, Zafir said that Iran was not interested in the new terms because they would harm the country greatly.

According to Zafir, Iran has no intentions of developing a nuclear weapon, and their nuclear program was peaceful. Even the current CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who is Trump’s favorite Secretary of State said that Iran was not “racing towards a bomb” in his testimony at the confirmation hearing.

“America never should have feared Iran producing a nuclear bomb, but we will pursue vigorously our nuclear enrichment. If they want to fear anything, it’s up to them,” Zarif said. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit the United States in order to try to persuade Trump to stay in this deal. However, Zafir believes that “to try to appease the President would be an exercise in futility.”

Source:nation.com.pk

Iran’s Foreign Minister claims that the United States has done everything to prevent Iran from developing economically and engaging with the other countries in the region and the world as well. Teheran is blocked and “a country that has been in breach for at least the last 15 months is in a position to make any new demands,” says Zarif. He also acknowledged that Iran would most likely leave the deal if the US pulls out of it first. “It’s very important for Iran to receive the benefits of the agreement,” he said. “There’s no way that Iran would do a one-sided implementation of it.”

Moreover, Zarif told that Iran would be more open towards prisoner exchange if the United States had more respect towards the country. There have been secret talks between the two countries in 2016 when Iran released four Americans for seven Iranians. He also defended Iran’s position in Syria and accused the US of launching airstrikes without sufficient evidence of chemical attacks. Zarif noted that Iranian troops have been present in Syria, but he denied the existence of their bases inside the country.

Source: edition.cnn.com

As one of the founders of foreignspolicyi.org Knjaz Milos tries to bring all the latest news regarding politics. He loves history and is passionate about writing.
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