San Francisco Chronicle

Diplomat says nuke deal won’t be revised

- By Nasser Karimi and Jon Gambrell Nasser Karimi and Jon Gambrell are Associated Press writers.

TEHRAN — Iran’s foreign minister took to YouTube on Thursday to criticize President Trump’s threat to withdraw from the nuclear deal, saying Iran will not “renegotiat­e or add onto” the atomic accord.

Mohammad Javad Zarif ’s video, which was also posted to Trump’s favorite social media platform, Twitter, appeared to be taking his message to the masses after earlier speaking to news outlets across the United States to defend the deal.

It comes as Trump has signaled he will withdraw from the agreement by May 12 if it is not renegotiat­ed and changed. Those changes have included proposals to limit Iran’s ballistic missile program, which Tehran says it has as a defensive deterrent.

The five-minute video shows Zarif behind his desk, delivering his message on the deal. He offers background first about the deal before laying into Trump and criticizin­g Europe for offering “the United States more concession­s from our pocket.”

“On 11 occasions since, the U.N. nuclear watchdog has confirmed that Iran has implemente­d all of its obligation­s,” Zarif, who studied in the U.S., says in American-accented English. “In contrast, the U.S. has consistent­ly violated the agreement, especially by bullying others from doing business with Iran.”

There was no immediate response from Washington.

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