Rouhani says US has failed to undermine nuclear deal

Iran’s president said yesterday that the United States had failed to undermine a nuclear agreement between Tehran and major powers, hailing it as a “long-lasting victory” for Tehran.

Donald Trump, the US president, on Friday delivered an ultimatum to European signatories of the deal: fix its “terrible flaws” or America would pull out.

“The American administration has failed to undermine the nuclear deal,” Hassan Rouhani said on state television. “Trump, despite his repeated efforts, has failed to undermine the accord.”

On Friday, Mr Trump agreed to waive sanctions against Iran for the last time to give the US and European allies a chance to amend the agreement.

Iran says the nuclear deal is not renegotiable and that it will stick to the accord as long as the other signatories respect it.

Under the deal, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for having most sanctions lifted.

On Saturday, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, called for the “necessary respect” of the nuclear deal as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, urged him to change it.

Mr Netanyahu and Mr Macron spoke on Saturday after Mr Trump made his demand for the nuclear agreement to be rewritten.

“Trump’s remarks should be taken seriously and whoever wants to keep the nuclear deal would be wise to fix it,” Mr Netanyahu said.

After that call, the French president’s office said that Mr Macron “remembers the importance of preserving the Iran nuclear deal and the necessary respect by all parties of their engagements regarding the accord”.

Iran says the deal is not renegotiable and that it will stick to the accord as long as other signatories respect it