Iranian President Hassan Rouhani yesterday rejected any hopes of rewriting a nuclear deal, after the leaders of the US and France called for a new pact covering Tehran’s missile program and regional interventions.
“We have an agreement called the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal],” said Rouhani in a fiery speech. “It will either last or not. If the JCPOA stays, it stays in full.”
He was responding to statements in Washington by French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump, in which they proposed a new deal with tougher restrictions on Iran.
Photo: AFP
Trump called the existing accord “insane” and “ridiculous,” and demanded fresh curbs on Iran’s ballistic missile program and support for militant groups.
Macron said the new agreement should include a settlement on Syria, where Iran backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
In Iran, Rouhani responded by ridiculing Trump, saying: “You have no expertise in politics, nor in law, nor in international accords. A tradesman, a businessman, a high-rise builder, how can he judge about global issues?”
Macron, who has built a warm rapport with Trump, has positioned himself as an emissary for European officials seeking a compromise that allows Trump to claim a public victory while keeping the deal intact.
However, he said after meeting Trump that he still did not know whether the US president would walk away from the nuclear deal when the next deadline for renewal comes up on May 12.
Macron said he wished “for now to work on a new deal with Iran” of which the nuclear accord could be one part, but neither leader indicated what Iran might get in return.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini yesterday said the deal must be maintained.
“On what can happen in the future, we’ll see in the future, but there is one deal existing, it’s working, it needs to be preserved,” she said as she arrived for a donor conference on Syria in Brussels.
Moscow also reiterated its support, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying: “We believe that no alternative exists so far” and demanding that Iran be involved in any further discussions.
Iran has also said it would ramp up enrichment of radioactive fuel if Trump walks away from the accord.
Macron was due to yesterday address a joint session of the US Congress, where he was reportedly to address the challenges eroding Franco-US ties, including economic inequality, climate change, how to tackle terrorism and the rise of nationalism.
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