Rouhani Warns Trump Not to Rip Up Iran Deal
Iranian president says the nuclear pact should stand
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned the United States of repercussions should President-elect Donald Trump follow through on his promise to rip up the global nuclear deal.
During a televised speech at the University of Tehran on Tuesday, Rouhani referred to Trump and President Barack Obama explicitly, promising to act if the U.S. pulls out of the nuclear pact or tries to extend the Iran Sanction Act, Reuters reported.
“There is no doubt that the United States is our enemy,” Rouhani said, channeling Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“If Obama signs ISA but uses waiver rights to cease its implementation,” Rouhani continued, “it still infringes the nuclear agreement and we will react to it.”
Congress overwhelmingly passed an extension of the sanctions bill earlier this month.
During his presidential campaign, Trump called the nuclear agreement a “disaster” and “the worst deal ever negotiated,” even going so far as to stage a mock negotiation during one of his rallies in Iowa.
Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, a staunch critic of the Iran deal who believes the pact will only hasten Iran’s race toward nuclear capabilities, has pledged to meet with Trump to discuss the agreement.
“I opposed the deal because it doesn’t prevent Iran from getting nukes,” Netanyahu said at via satellite at a Brookings Institution event on Middle Eastern policy over the weekend. “It paves the way for Iran to get nuclear weapons.”
Iran is set to hold its own presidential elections in 2017, in which Rouhani could win a second term.