IRAN WARNS U.S. AGAINST DITCHING DEAL
Teheran ready to vigorously resume nuke enrichment, says foreign minister
IRAN warned on Saturday that it is ready to “vigorously” resume nuclear enrichment if the United States ditches the 2015 nuclear deal, and said further “drastic measures” are being considered in response to a US exit.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran was not seeking to acquire a nuclear bomb, but that its “probable” response to a US withdrawal would be to restart production of enriched uranium
— a key bomb-making ingredient.
“The US never should have feared Iran producing a nuclear bomb, but we will pursue vigorously our nuclear enrichment,” added Zarif, who was here to attend a United Nations meeting on sustaining peace.
US President Don- ald Trump had set a May 12 deadline for the Europeans to “fix” the 2015 agreement that provided for curbs to Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for relief from financial sanctions.
Zarif ’s comments marked a further hardening of rhetoric following a warning earlier this month from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that Washington would “regret” withdrawing from the nuclear deal, and that Iran would respond within a week if it did.
The fate of the Iran deal will be a key issue during French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Washington beginning today, followed by talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Washington on Friday.
Zarif said the European leaders must press Trump to stick to the deal if the US “intends to maintain any credibility in the international community” and to abide by it, “rather than demand more”.
Zarif also warned against offering any concessions to Trump.
“To try to appease the president, I think, would be an exercise in futility.”
European leaders were hoping to persuade Trump to save the deal if they, in turn, agreed to press Iran to enter into agreement on missile tests and moderating its regional influence in Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.
If the US buried the deal, Iran was unlikely to stick to the agreement alongside the other signatories — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia — said Zarif.
European diplomats had argued that the deal could be salvaged without the US, with a view to bringing Washington back in the fold at a later time, possibly under a new administration.
“The US, under the Trump administration, has done everything it could to prevent Iran from benefiting from this agreement,” Zarif charged.
He warned of “drastic measures” under discussion in Iran.
He declined to specify, pointing to “what certain members of our parliament are saying about Iran’s options”.
Despite the threats of a tough response to a US pullout, Zarif also left open the possibility of diplomatic action during a 45day period to formally notify the withdrawal.
“Whether other things can be done during those 45 days ... is a hypothetical question that needs to be addressed at that time.”