Rouhani Criticizes Critics of Nuclear Deal in Domestic Circles

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (AFP/File Photo)

The day after the meeting of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Jawad Zarif with his counterparts from France, Germany and Britain, President Hassan Rowhani criticized the critics of the nuclear deal in the Iranian internal circles, calling on them to direct their blows at the United States' Administration.

On the other hand, senior advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Ali Akbar Velayati ruled out the possibility that talks with Europeans to save Iran’s nuclear deal would be fruitful.

“I rule out that the talks with the Europeans will be fruitful,” Velayati said in remarks. “I hope we can reach a solution, but how long should we wait? We must achieve self-sufficiency” he added.

“They think they can make the Iranian nation surrender by putting pressures on Iran, by sanctions and even threats of war,” Rouhani said of renewed U.S. sanctions recently imposed on Iran’s central bank, according to the ISNA news agency. “The Iranian nation will resist the U.S. plots.” The Iranian president said that Iran achieved 80 percent of its goals in the deal, demanding that criticism must be directed against the U.S. government that exited the deal.

“Trump played his first card, but miscalculated the second move,” Rouhani was quoted as saying. President Donald Trump expected Tehran to leave the nuclear deal after the U.S. withdrawal, Rouhani said on Wednesday. Tehran has refused to follow that plan by trying to save the deal with its remaining signatories, he said.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei didn’t fulfill his promise to burn the deal if the U.S. president withdrew from it; he asked for economic and legal warranties for the nuclear deal to keep going.

"If the JCPOA (nuclear deal) is supposed to continue, it was a good start and it has sent an important political message, but this is not the end of the work," Zarif told reporters.

"From next week, intensive expert meetings will start in Europe. They must do the work, but they will consult us so that we are sure the actions they take are sufficient from our point of view," he added.

This article has been adapted from its original source.