“Iran will remain in the deal despite the will of America.”
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday said that Iran would remain a part of the Iran nuclear agreement as long as its interests were protected, according to Reuters.
“If the remaining five countries continue to abide by the agreement, Iran will remain in the deal despite the will of America,” Rouhani said during a speech on state television, calling President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the U. S. out of the agreement a “violation of morals.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif kicked off a tour of other countries involved in the agreement with a visit to China on Saturday, noting that the tour was meant to reassure other signatory countries and discuss ways to restructure the deal .
“We hope that with this visit to China and other countries we will be able to construct a clear future design for the comprehensive agreement,” Zarif said in Beijing on Sunday.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China would take “an objective, fair, and responsible attitude to continue to safeguard the… agreement.”
Rouhani’s statement comes just after President Trump elected to withdraw the U. S. from the Obama-era deal and begin re-imposing what he called the “highest level” of economic sanctions on Iran.
European allies like French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and British Prime Minister Theresa May have been heavily critical of Trump’s decision to pull out of the agreement and have said that the U. S. leaving the deal does not mean their respective countries would do so.
“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,” they said in a joint statement released just after Trump announced his decision.
“There must be no doubt: Iran’s nuclear program must always remain peaceful and civilian,” the statement continued.
It is not clear how the U. S. removal from the deal will affect President Trump’s upcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The two are set to discuss demilitarizing the Korean peninsula on June 12 in Singapore.
Kelcey Caulder is a News Fellow at IJR. Previously, she worked with the web team at the Los Angeles Times and led the Student Press Law Center’s campa… more
