Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Iranian president blasts Trump talk as ‘absurd’
NEW YORK — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday blasted President Donald Trump’s speech before the United Nations as “ignorant, absurd and hateful” and vowed that Iran will not be the first to walk away from the nuclear deal.
Trump, meanwhile, said he has made a decision on whether to recertify Iran’s compliance with the deal, though he declined to reveal what that decision is.
Rouhani never mentioned Trump by name during his 23-minute address at the U.N. General Assembly. Instead, he referred to Trump obliquely, at one point saying it would be a pity if the nuclear deal were undone by “rogue newcomers to the world of politics.”
Rouhani denied that Iran has ever sought to obtain nuclear weapons. And he said the ballistic missiles his country has been testing would be used only for defensive purposes.
“Iran does not seek to restore its ancient empire, impose its official religion on others or export its revolution through the force of arms,” he said.
Rouhani’s remarks were a response to Trump’s speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, when he
called Iran a “murderous regime” and put it in the same category as rogue nations such as North Korea.
Taking aim more specifically at Trump’s speech, Rouhani said that “the ignorant, absurd and hateful rhetoric filled with ridiculously baseless allegations that was uttered before this august body yesterday was … unfit to be heard at the United Nations, which was established to promote peace and respect.”
Rouhani presented Iran as a nation pursuing a peaceful world and held up the nuclear deal as proof. Characterizing it as an agreement negotiated with six world powers, not just the United States, and endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, Rouhani said that “it belongs to the international community in its entirety and not only to one or two countries.”
“I declare before you that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not be the first country to violate the agreement,” he said. “But it will respond decisively and resolutely to its violation by any party.”
Rouhani also suggested that if the U.S. abrogates the terms of the deal, Iran could resume larger-scale uranium-enrichment activities — a move that would rekindle international fears that Tehran could accelerate the development of nuclear weapons.
“If anyone exits the agreement and breaks their commitment, it means our hand is completely open to take any action that we see as beneficial to our country,” Rouhani said at a news conference after his address to the General Assembly.
Trump on Tuesday called the agreement with Iran an embarrassment and “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the U.S. has ever entered into.”
Under U.S. law, Trump must decide by Oct. 15 whether to recertify Iran’s compliance with the agreement. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which has inspectors in Iran to monitor its nuclear facilities, has said eight times that the Iranians are complying. If Trump does not recertify compliance, then Congress will have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose U.S. sanctions that were lifted when the deal took effect. That would in effect be a withdrawal from the accord.
Trump, pressed by reporters Wednesday at a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, declined to reveal any details about his decision. “I’ll let you know. I’ll let you know,” he said.
Trump has certified Iran’s compliance twice, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson acknowledged this week that Iran remains in “technical compliance.” But Trump has made clear that he is reluctant to certify it for a third time, citing destabilizing activities by Iran that are not directly covered by the agreement, including its ballistic missile program and support for terrorist groups in the Middle East.
Shortly afterward, Vice President Mike Pence told the U.N. Security Council that Iran “continues to flout the spirit of the Iran deal, destabilizing the region and brazenly threatening the security of sovereign nations.”
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said Trump’s speech to the General Assembly should not be interpreted as a “clear signal he plans to withdraw” from the deal but that it showed he was “clearly not happy” with it.
In an interview with CBS News, Haley said that given Iran’s other activities, the United States is not safer because of the deal, adding that Rouhani should do more to curb Tehran’s behavior.
“I think what he needs to do is instead of focusing on us leaving the agreement, he needs to start following the rules,” she said. “He’s got to stop smuggling arms, he’s got to stop all of the meddling they’re doing over the Middle East, stop the ballistic missile testing. He is not keeping his end of the deal, and what he’s trying to do is put it on us. But we have to keep it on him.”
The other five countries that negotiated the agreement have resisted any effort by Trump to tear it up.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking to reporters Wednesday outside the U.N. Security Council chambers, declined to say whether Trump had shared with him his decision on the Iran deal. But he said France favored keeping it “because it’s a good one.”
Macron said the agreement should be amended to cover ballistic missiles and extended to last beyond 2025. He also said he favored “an open discussion with Iran about the current situation in the region.” But, he added, “I think it would be a mistake just to abandon the nuclear agreement without that.”
Rouhani said Wednesday that the time frame and deadlines contained in the deal were all carefully worked out and will not be revisited.
Iranian officials have said the United States would pay a “high cost” for walking away. Rouhani suggested the same, though he did not specify whether Iran would use a U.S. withdrawal as an excuse to ignore the curbs on its nuclear program that it agreed to.
Rouhani said the end of the nuclear deal would be more detrimental to the United States than to Iran.
“By violating its international commitments, the new U.S. administration only destroys its own credibility and undermines international confidence in negotiating with it, or accepting its word or promise,” he said.
This is the third General Assembly since the deal was made, and Rouhani’s appearances have reflected the arc of Iranian sentiment about it.
In 2015, as Iran was dismantling and downsizing parts of its nuclear program in the first part of the deal, Rouhani was optimistic it would lead to growth as Iran was reintegrated into the world economy. Last year, the Iranian president was dour, complaining that the United States had not done enough to convince international business and banks that it was safe to invest in Iran.
This year, Rouhani was defiant, at one point demanding that Trump apologize for his Tuesday remarks.
“Mr. Trump was offensive to Iran, and we are waiting for Mr. Trump to apologize to the people of Iran,” Rouhani said.