In a televised speech, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran was ready to negotiate with Washington, but only if the US first apologized for leaving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, Iran Nuclear Deal).
In a tweet in early June, Trump repeated Washington’s call for a new deal with Tehran aimed at putting stricter limits on Tehran’s nuclear work, curbs its ballistic missile program and ends its decades of regional proxy wars.
Hassan Rouhani said the following, in his televised address:
“We have no problem with talks with the U.S., but only if Washington fulfils its obligations under the nuclear deal, apologies and compensates Tehran for its withdrawal from the 2015 deal,” Rouhani said in a televised speech.
“But we know these calls for talks with Tehran are just words and lies,” he added.
Iran has gradually reduced compliance with the Nuclear Deal, as it believes that the other signatories of the deal, including several EU countries and Russia are failing to uphold their side of the deal.
The Europeans have failed to fulfil their promises. They should carry out their obligations,” Rouhani said.
Rouhani also condemned a resolution by the U.N. nuclear watchdog passed on June 19th that called on Iran to stop denying the agency access to two suspected former sites and to cooperate fully with it.
“Iran is ready to cooperate with the (International Atomic Energy Agency) IAEA under law,” he said.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi lambasted IAEA Board of Governors’ political resolution as an unconstructive, irresponsible and unacceptable act, saying that the UK, France and Germany’s move with regard to the resolution is strongly condemned.
“Magnifying the Agency’s requests by some governments, led by the US, is a clear attempt to create a new crisis for cooperation between Iran and the IAEA,” he said, noting that the basis of such requests by the IAEA is questionable.
Mousavi called on members of the board of governors to be vigilant against the US and Zionist regime’s attempts to reopen the old forged cases that had previously been proven baseless and closed by the entity itself.
Iranian state outlet IRNA interviewed lead spokesperson for the external affairs of the European Union Peter Stano.
He said the EU continues to fully support the work of the IAEA in monitoring and verifying the entirety of Iran’s nuclear activities.
In former US National Security Adviser John Bolton’s book, the work of Iran’s negotiators on the deal was actually praised.
“On 20 July 2015, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2231 (2015) endorsing the JCPOA,” according to UNSC website.
“The Security Council affirmed that conclusion of the JCPOA marked a fundamental shift in its consideration of the Iranian nuclear issue, expressed its desire to build a new relationship with Iran strengthened by the implementation of the JCPOA and to bring to a satisfactory conclusion its consideration of this matter.”
“The Security Council further affirmed that full implementation of the JCPOA would contribute to building confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme and emphasized that the JCPOA is conducive to promoting and facilitating the development of normal economic and trade contacts and cooperation with Iran,” it added.
An advisor to President Hassan Rouhani, Hesamodin Ashna, said that Bolton believed that the JCPOA makes Iran more powerful without being able to control or reduce Iran’s military or security power.
