Iran’s President Warns U.S. of “Historic Regret” If Trump Walks Out of Iran Deal

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani made a bold proclamation to the U.S. on May 5 saying the United States government will face a “historic regret” if it chooses to walk out of the Iran P5+1 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The warning from Tehran comes after U.S. President Donald Trump made it one of his election promises to either walk out of the 2015 agreement signed between Iran and six western powers or renegotiate the deal. The U.S. is scheduled to renew its commitment to the deal on May 12.

In an address on state TV on Sunday, Rouhani said that Iran has plans in place to confront any decision by US President Donald Trump, who said he would withdraw from the nuclear agreement. "Necessary directives have been given to related organisations and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran [to proceed in case of withdrawal]," the president said. "If America leaves the nuclear accord, this will entail historic regret for it," Rouhani added.

Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the Iran deal which was signed by his predecessor Barack Obama. Trump has called the deal “foolish” and “ignorant.” Earlier this week, U.S. ally Israel announced that it had gained documents about Tehran’s nuclear programme that proved the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement was ‘based on lies.’ However, Iran has called the allegations by Israel ‘re-hashing of old news.'

Despite, the Trump Administration’s opposition to the Iran deal, the other signatories such as France and Germany have voiced their support for the existing agreement. France’s President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, both met Trump a week ago tried to underscore the importance of staying in the JCPOA but from the noises coming out of White House, most are assuming the worst – of U.S. walking out.

French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that war could ensue if U.S. President Donald Trump withdraws from the 2015 deal in which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. "We would open the Pandora's box. There could be war," Macron told German weekly magazine Der Spiegel. But he added: "I don't think that Donald Trump wants war."

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said on Thursday that his country will not be bullied into renegotiating the multilateral deal that was years in the making. "Iran stands firm in the face of futile attempts at bullying," Zarif said in a recorded message. "If the US continues to violate the agreement, or if it withdraws altogether, we will exercise our right to respond in a manner of our choosing," he said referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the official name of the agreement.

He also rejected efforts to renegotiate the deal, saying: "We will neither outsource our security, nor will we renegotiate or add on to a deal we have already implemented in good faith." Zarif added that the U.S. "will have to accept responsibility" for the consequences of not honouring its commitment to the deal.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 07, 2018 06:14 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).