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US to regret if it withdraws from nuclear deal, says Iranian president

"The US won’t be able to do anything against the Iranian people," added Hassan Rouhani
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Mikhail Metzel/TASS
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

MOSCOW, May 6./TASS/. If the US withdraws from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program, it will regret this shortly, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday.

The president said Iran is ready for any decision by the US on the nuclear deal. "We are ready for any decision on the JCPOA," the president’s Office quoted him as saying. "We disapprove of war and tensions, but we will be resolutely defending our rights," the president said, adding that "the US won’t be able to do anything against the Iranian people".

The deal on Iran’s nuclear program, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was reached between Iran and six international mediators (Russia, the UK, China, the US, France and Germany) on July 14, 2015. In January 2016, the parties to the deal announced the launch of its implementation. Under the deal, Iran undertook efforts to curb its nuclear activities and place them under the total control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in exchange for lifting the sanctions that were imposed previously by the United Nations Security Council, the European Union and the United States over its nuclear program.

US President Donald Trump has stated on numerous occasions that the Iran nuclear deal is flawed arguing that it did not prevent the creation of nuclear weapons by Iran but only postponed it. On January 12, 2018, he said Washington would withdraw from the agreement if it were not amended.