Iran says it is committed to nuclear deal despite US withdrawal

President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that Iran would remain committed to a multinational nuclear deal despite US president Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 agreement designed to deny Tehran the ability to build nuclear weapons.

“If we achieve the deal’s goals in co-operation with other members of the deal, it will remain in place . . . By exiting the deal, America has officially undermined its commitment to an international treaty,” Mr Rouhani said in a televised speech.

“I have ordered the foreign ministry to negotiate with the European countries, China and Russia in coming weeks. If at the end of this short period we conclude that we can fully benefit from the JCPOA with the co-operation of all countries, the deal would remain,” he added.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is the full name for the nuclear deal, struck in 2015 between Iran, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France – and Germany.

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Infighting

Mr Trump’s decision sets the stage for a resurgence of political infighting within Iran’s complex power structure, Iranian officials said. Mr Trump’s decision to exit the deal could tip the balance of power in favour of hardliners looking to constrain Mr Rouhani’s ability to open up to the West.

“They will blame Rouhani . . . They will continue their shenanigans at home and abroad. And they will have the US to blame for the failure of the economy,” said Abbas Milani, director of the Iranian Studies programme at Stanford University.

Supreme leader Ali Khamenei, whose hostility towards Washington is the glue that holds together Iran’s faction-ridden leadership, had said that Iran would “shred” the deal if the United States pulled out of it.

Meanwhile, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Mr Trump’s decision a “historic move”. He said leaving the Iran deal unchanged would be “a recipe for disaster, a disaster for our region, a disaster for the peace of the world”.

Mr Netanyahu said Iran’s aggression has grown since the deal, especially in Syria, where he says it is “trying to establish military bases to attack Israel”.

High alert

Earlier, Israel’s military said forces were on high alert and ordered bomb shelters open in the Golan Heights after spotting “irregular activity of Iranian forces in Syria”.

Former US president Barack Obama called Mr Trump’s decision a “serious mistake” that will erode America’s global credibility.

Mr Obama’s administration brokered the deal. He said Mr Trump’s decision to withdraw was “misguided”, especially because Iran has been complying with the deal.

UN secretary-general António Guterres said he was “deeply disappointed” at the US decision and called on the five other signatories “to abide fully” by their commitments.

The UN chief also called on all other UN member states to support the 2015 agreement.

Mr Guterres reiterated that the deal “represents a major achievement in nuclear non-proliferation and diplomacy and has contributed to regional and international peace and security”.

He said it is essential that “all concerns” about implementing the agreement be addressed through the mechanisms in the deal.