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Iranian president says nuclear deal not negotiable

The Iranian leader added that his country does not accept any restrictions beyond its obligations

PARIS, April 30. /TASS/. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear program, signed in 2015, is "by no means negotiable," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron.

"JCPOA and any other issue under this pretext are by no means negotiable," the Iranian leader said, adding that his country does not accept any restrictions beyond its obligations.

During the conversation that lasted more than an hour, the French president noted that France is willing the 2015 agreements to be preserved, AFP reported, quoting the French President’s administration. Paris also wants to launch negotiations on three additional issues - "control over nuclear activities after 2025, Iran’s ballistic program and important regional crises."

Macron and Rouhani agreed to work in coming weeks to preserve all aspects of the JCPOA. Their advisors and ministers would keep contact on those issues with permanent members of the UN Security Council, as well as European and regional partners.

US President Donald Trump is to announce on May 12 whether the United States is quitting the nuclear deal and reinstating unilateral US sanctions against Iran, suspended after the JCPOA took effect.

In July 2015, Iran, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (Russia, Britain, China, the United States and France) and Germany agreed on a settlement of Tehran’s nuclear problem. Under the JCPoA they worked out the UN, US and EU sanctions were to be lifted. Its implementation began in January 2016.

US President Donald Trump has described the agreement with Iran as a "bad deal." He argued that it did not eliminate the possibility Iran might make nuclear weapons, but merely postponed the moment. On January 12, Trump said the United States would quit the deal if certain amendments agreed on with the European countries were not made to it. At the end of April a US administration spokesman said the United States, France, Germany and Britain had achieved progress at negotiations on amendments to the agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, but a final solution had not been identified yet.