USA TODAY International Edition
Trump rips Kerry, ‘shadow diplomacy’ on Iran deal
The Iran nuclear agreement could remain in place even if President Trump withdraws the United States from the deal, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Monday.
If other participants in the deal provide Iran the guarantees it seeks, Rouhani said, Iran will not revive its nuclear development, Iran Daily and other news media reported. He reaffirmed his belief that the United States would suffer “historic remorse” by blowing up the deal.
Trump tweeted that he will announce Tuesday his decision on the pact struck in 2015 between Iran and six world powers.
“If we can get what we want from a deal without America, then Iran will continue to remain committed to the deal,” Rouhani said. “What Iran wants is our interests to be guaranteed by non-American signatories . ... Getting rid of America’s mischievous presence will be fine for Iran.”
The United States, Britain, Russia, France, China and Germany signed the pact. Leaders encouraged Trump to support the deal, and Rouhani said Europe should work to preserve it.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson lobbied Trump on Monday, appearing on Fox News Channel’s Fox &
Friends. Johnson urged the president not to “throw the baby out with the bathwater.” He said any “Plan B” should the deal be terminated did not appear to be well thought out.
“There doesn’t seem to me at the moment to be a viable military solution,” Johnson said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he met recently with former secretary of State John Kerry, who helped negotiate the deal while serving under President Obama. Word of the meeting set off Trump, who has railed against the deal since before taking office.
“The United States does not need John Kerry’s possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy on the very badly negotiated Iran Deal,” Trump tweeted Monday. “He was the one that created this MESS in the first place!”
Trump says the deal is heavily weighted in Iran’s favor, and Iran eluded requirements of the agreement, such as full access for international inspectors.
Rouhani said Iran is prepared to resume nuclear activities with more intensity than before the agreement if the deal is ditched. All options are open, he said. Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran’s nuclear chief, said his agency will resume enriching uranium within days if the deal is ditched.