Iran rejects US attempt to change international nuclear accord

NEW YORK: The international nuclear agreement with Iran is a “closed issue” and cannot be extended or changed in any way, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has declared, flatly rejecting US President Donald Trump’s criticism that the deal is weak and “an embarrassment”.

“This is a building frame. If you take out a single brick, the entire building will collapse,” Rouhani said.

“This issue must be understood by the American officials,” he added. “Either (it) will remain as it is in its entirety or it will cease to exist.”

The 2015 deal known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was a signature achievement for former US president Barack Obama.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held his first meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday, alongside the other parties to the accord. France, Germany and Britain have not signed on to the criticism lodged by the new US administration, and French President Emmanuel Macron used his meeting at the UN with Trump on Monday to urge the US leader to stick with it.

The deal meant an infusion of cash and investment in Iran, much of it from European businesses liberated from international economic sanctions on Iran.

It has been an open question whether the agreement could survive without the US, whose participation was the key to Iranian willingness to strike a bargain, limiting what it asserts is a peaceful nuclear programme.

Rouhani’s remarks are a declaration that the deal cannot be renegotiated to address US concerns. Rouhani also suggested that if the US abrogates on the terms, Iran could resume larger-scale uranium-enrichment activities.