Rouhani: Trump Can’t Cancel Nuclear Deal

Date: 17 January 2017 - 20:43

News ID: ۳۵۷۱۳

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday U.S. President-elect Trump cannot unilaterally cancel the nuclear deal Tehran signed with world powers including Washington and that talk of renegotiating it was "meaningless."
Trump, who will take office on Friday, has called the July 2015 agreement "the worst deal ever negotiated.” He has threatened to either scrap the agreement or seek a better deal.
Under Iran's agreement with the United States, France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China, Tehran agreed to shrink its nuclear program. In exchange, Iran received relief from sanctions, most of which were lifted in January 2016.
"The president elect has shown he is not happy about the nuclear deal, calling it the worst deal ever signed. This is only empty talk," Rouhani told a news conference on the anniversary of the removal of sanctions.
"I don't think he can do much when he goes to the White House," added Rouhani.
The president said he was hopeful about the future of the nuclear deal, which has been buttressed by a UN Security Council resolution, calling talk about renegotiation "meaningless."
"I am optimistic about the future of the nuclear deal ... (It) is good for the United States, but he (Trump) doesn't understand," said Rouhani.
The president compared talk of renegotiating its nuclear accord to "converting a shirt back to cotton,” and said Trump’s talk of doing so is "mainly slogans.”
"Mr. Trump has so far made many remarks on the deal,” he added. "These are mainly slogans. I do not see it as likely that something happens in practice.” He said the deal is beneficial to the United States, but that Trump "doesn’t understand this.”
Rex Tillerson, Trump's nominee for U.S. Secretary of State, said last week that he would recommend a "full review" of the nuclear deal but did not call for an outright rejection.
Rouhani said the historic deal and its implementation belied claims about Iran seeking weapons of mass destruction and demonstrated the honesty and sincerity of the Islamic Republic.
Rouhani said those who claimed that Iran sought to develop nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction were speaking unjustly and unjustifiably and they should be ashamed of themselves now.
"Very few pundits believed that the issue of PMD (Possible Military Dimensions to Iran's nuclear program) would be resolved, and the International Atomic Energy Agency would admit that Iran's outstanding issues had ended."
Describing the JCPOA as "a great national achievement," Rouhani said, "The closure of this dossier amounted to a moral victory for the great Iranian nation."
Rouhani stressed that all nuclear-related sanctions against the Islamic Republic have been removed after implementation of the JCPOA started, adding that there are no more bans in the gas, oil and transport sectors.
However, the U.S., given its hostility toward the Islamic Republic, has been creating obstacles in the banking transactions between Tehran and the rest of the world, he added.
Rouhani said Iran "is standing with great might and powerfully against" the violations of the JCPOA, adding, however, that "we have not acted and will not act hastily, because national interests are a principle for us and we will always bear in mind these interests."

Ties With Saudi Arabia
Rouhani said at least 10 countries have offered to mediate in the escalating feud between Saudi Arabia and Iran, noting that Tehran would restore ties with Riyadh if Saudi Arabia changes it regional policies.
Answering a question about Iraq and Kuwait's reported offer to help defuse the tension between regional rivals, Rouhani said: "There are many countries. You mentioned Iraq and Kuwait. There are eight to 10 other countries in my mind now whose officials have talked to us about this."
He said Iran is not seeking to eliminate Saudi Arabia from regional politics and will offer its help to Riyadh if "it takes the right decision" and ends its military intervention in Yemen and stops what he called its meddling in Bahraini affairs.
Rouhani said the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic has been founded on forging close ties with neighboring countries, including the littoral Arab states of the Persian Gulf.
The root cause of the existing problems between Iran and Saudi Arabia, he said, was Riyadh's war on Yemen, adding, "Saudi Arabia must stop strikes on Yemen as soon as possible."
Referring to severance of diplomatic ties between Tehran and Riyadh, Rouhani said, "It was Saudi Arabia, which decided to unilaterally cut ties with Iran and this was not our decision."
Elsewhere in his remarks, Rouhani noted that Iran's economic growth currently stood at 7.4%, "which has no parallel in the region."
He added that 700,000 jobs were also created in the country during past year while only six countries in the world have been able to create over 600,000 jobs per year.
Answering a question on the situation in Syria, Rouhani noted that the first and foremost priority in the Arab country was to maintain ceasefire and prevent resumption of armed conflict in those regions where ceasefire has been enforced.
Rouhani noted that at present, conditions have been provided in Syria for real negotiations among all warring parties.
Referring to the forthcoming talks on Syria in Kazakhstan’s capital city of Astana, the Iranian president said Astana talks will be based on Syria-Syria dialogue.
He reiterated that nobody should be allowed to make a decision on the future of Syria on behalf of its people, because it is only for the Syrian nation to decide their country's fate.