World nations stand with Iran on JCPOA: Rouhani

EghtesadOnline: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the 2015 nuclear agreement benefits the entire region and the world, warning that any attempt to damage the deal will backfire.

News ID: ۷۷۸۴۹۴

19 August 2017

Speaking at the last meeting of his cabinet on Sunday, Rouhani rejected claims by US President Donald Trump and opponents of the Islamic Republic who have described the accord, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the “worst deal ever” and accused Iran of having deceived others, PressTV reported.

“What is important about the JCPOA is the issue of understanding and a win-win situation,” he said.

“Certainly, the JCPOA serves and will serve the interests of the country, region and the entire world and anyone who wants to damage the JCPOA will hurt himself and his country,” he added.

The president also warned that if the US stands against the deal, the whole world will stand up to the US, contrary to four years ago when Iran was alone.

“Today, if anyone wants to take a measure against Iran regarding the JCPOA, all [countries] will be with us and against the one who wants to weaken the JCPOA,” Rouhani pointed out.

The JCPOA was inked between Iran and the P5+1 countries — namely the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany — in July 2015 and took effect in January 2016.

Under the deal, which was later endorsed by a United Nations Security Council resolution, limits were put on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for the removal of all nuclear-related bans imposed on the Islamic Republic, among other things.

The UN nuclear watchdog has invariably certified Iran’s commitment to its obligations under the accord.

On the contrary, the Trump administration, which took over in January 2017, one year after the JCPOA came into force, has taken a hostile stance toward the deal, repeatedly threatening to tear it up.