Rouhani: Iran not giving up on nuclear deal

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said yesterday that, if the country’s interests were protected, Tehran would remain committed to its 2015 nuclear deal, which his foreign minister hoped could be redesigned without Washington.

The US withdrawal from the accord was a “violation of morals,” Rouhani said in remarks carried by state television. “If the remaining five countries continue to abide by the agreement, Iran will remain in the deal despite the will of America,” he said during a meeting with Sri Lanka’s President.

US President Donald Trump’s pullout upset Washington’s European allies and also highlighted divisions among Iran’s political elite.

Conciliatory comments

Rouhani made similarly conciliatory comments earlier and, on Saturday his foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, embarked on a tour of other signatory nations to the accord, state media reported, in a last-ditch effort to save it.

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi said he believed Zarif’s tour would “improve countries’... understanding of Iran’s position” and help Tehran protect its “legitimate national interests”.

Rouhani has said Iran would stay committed to the deal, which Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia also signed, provided those powers could ensure Iran was protected from sanctions against key sectors of its economy such as oil. With the deal on shaky ground in the face of fierce opposition from hardliners at home, some analysts say the pragmatic Rouhani faces the prospect of serving out his second term as a lameduck leader.