Iranian President Hassan Rouhani pushed back at the U.S. immediately after President Trump announced he was pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal – threatening it would boost its uranium enrichment.
Capping the Islamic Republic’s uranium enrichment activities was a key pillar of the Iran deal reached between Iran and six other nations, an effort meant to ensure it didn’t have enough material to make a nuclear bomb.
Speaking immediately after Trump, Rouhani said the nation would enrich uranium ‘more than before … in next weeks.’
‘I have ordered Iran’s atomic organization that whenever it is needed, we will start enriching uranium more than before,’ Rouhani said.
‘I have ordered Iran’s atomic organization that whenever it is needed, we will start enriching uranium more than before,’ Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said
He made his remarks on live TV. Rouhani said he was sending Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who helped ink the deal, to meet with other nations who remain in the agreement.
Rouhani – whose own political prospects could dim if the agreement collapses amid Iran’s economic problems and the rising costs of basic staples – then took a swipe at the world’s greatest military power.
‘Iran will be conferring with the world’s two super powers, Russia and China,’ he sniped, insisting that Trump’s ‘psychological war and economic pressures will not work.’
Rouhani, who along with President Barack Obama helped set the conditions for the deal to go forward, also said Iran would remain in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), leaving uncertainty about what level of enrichment he intended.
Trump blasted the Iran deal as a ‘horrible’ agreement
He spoke after Trump blasted the Iran deal as a ‘horrible, one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made.’
Rouani also said at a Petroleum conference just before Trump spoke that Iran ‘could face some problems’ under restored sanctions, the Washington Post reported. ‘But we will move on,’ he said.
‘If we are under sanctions or not, we should stand on our feet,’ he said.
His comments came even as the leaders of Britain, France, and Germany announced they would remain in the agreement and work with Iran.
French President Emmanuel Macron has said France, Germany and Britain regret US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
FILE – In this Sept. 22, 2017 file photo, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, second right, speaks at a military parade marking the 37th anniversary of Iraq’s 1980 invasion of Iran, just outside Tehran, Iran
French President Emmanuel Macron has said France, Germany and Britain regret US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal
‘France, Germany, and the UK regret the U.S. decision to leave the JCPOA (Iran deal). The nuclear non-proliferation regime is at stake,’ he wrote on Twitter, speaking on behalf of the three nations.
‘We will work collectively on a broader framework, covering nuclear activity, the post-2025 period, ballistic activity, and stability in the Middle-East, notably Syria, Yemen, and Iraq,’ he added.
According to their joint statement: ‘It is with regret and concern that we, the Leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom take note of President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States of America from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.’
They continued: ‘Together, we emphasize our continuing commitment to the JCPoA. This agreement remains important for our shared security. We recall that the JCPoA was unanimously endorsed by the UN Security Council in resolution 2231. This resolution remains the binding international legal framework for the resolution of the dispute about the Iranian nuclear program. We urge all sides to remain committed to its full implementation and to act in a spirit of responsibility.’
‘According to the IAEA, Iran continues to abide by the restrictions set out by the JCPoA, in line with its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The world is a safer place as a result. Therefore we, the E3, will remain parties to the JCPoA. Our governments remain committed to ensuring the agreement is upheld, and will work with all the remaining parties to the deal to ensure this remains the case including through ensuring the continuing economic benefits to the Iranian people that are linked to the agreement.’
‘We urge the US to ensure that the structures of the JCPoA can remain intact, and to avoid taking action which obstructs its full implementation by all other parties to the deal. After engaging with the US Administration in a thorough manner over the past months, we call on the US to do everything possible to preserve the gains for nuclear non-proliferation brought about by the JCPoA, by allowing for a continued enforcement of its main elements.’