Iran’s President Decries US Stance on JCPOA
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hit back at his US counterpart for opposing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saying a real estate businessman without any knowledge of politics is in no position to comment on the international issues.
Addressing a cultural conference in Iran’s northwestern city of Tabriz on Wednesday, President Rouhani deplored his US counterpart’s lack of knowledge about politics and the international treaties, saying a businessman engaged in the tower construction industry is not fit to make comments about the international issues.
The criticism came after US President Donald Trump called the JCPOA - the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) - “ridiculous” and “insane.”
“It was a terrible deal. It should have never been made,” Trump said during a state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to the US.
Elsewhere in his speech, President Rouhani said the major problem in today’s world originates from the politicians that cannot realize the consequences of their remarks or decisions.
“Those talking about a decision on the future of the JCPOA should first show what they have done to carry out the agreement and honor their commitments over the past two years,” the Iranian president stressed.
He also took a swipe at the US officials for the wrong belief that Washington should make decisions on the Middle East, saying the US government only seeks to exploit the region’s oil and plunder the assets of certain Arab states.
In comments in September 2017, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei lambasted the US for violating the JCPOA, warning that any “wrong move” concerning the nuclear deal would draw reaction from Iran.
“The Iranian nation is standing firmly, and any wrong move by the hegemonic system concerning the JCPOA would receive the Islamic Republic’s reaction,” the Leader said in a military gathering in Tehran.
Iran and the Group 5+1 reached the 159-page nuclear agreement in July 2015 and started to implement it in January 2016.
Ever since the deal took effect, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA in all quarterly reports, but some other parties, especially the US, have failed to live up to their undertakings.
While Trump has on various occasions called for renegotiating the JCPOA or terminating it, Iran and most other parties say the nuclear agreement is a valid multilateral international document that would not be renegotiated.