Nuke deal collapse ‘dangerous’: Zarif

Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned on Sunday that failure to save the nuclear deal after the exit of the US would be “very dangerous” for Tehran.

The United States announced in May that it was withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposing sanctions that would hit international businesses working in the Islamic republic.

The other parties to the deal — Britain,France,Germany,China and Russia — have vowed to stay in the accord but appear powerless to stop their companies pulling out of Iran for fear of US penalties.

“Failure of the JCPOA (nuclear deal) would be very dangerous for us,” Zarif told members of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

IRNA did not say if he amplified on the dangers posed to Iran. “This is certainly not the (Iranian political) system’s choice,” added Zarif, one of the architect’s of the nuclear pact.

Iran has been holding talks with European Union leaders and other officials seeking ways to keep the deal alive, as well as economic guarantees.

Some European firms doing business in Iran have begun to pack up and leave since the US exit, while the rial has lost more than 47% of its value against the dollar since September Following the US decision to pull out of the deal in May, Zarif embarked on a tour of Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia.