Iran defiant to US threats to quit nuke deal

Iranian officials vowed on Saturday to retaliate the US threats to possibly withdraw from the landmark 2015 international nuclear deal and expressed assurance that that will not hurt the country.

Iran's economy would not be negatively affected by the possible withdrawal of the US from the 2015 international nuclear deal, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday.

Iran is prepared for the US President's possible decision to pull out of the nuclear deal internationally known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Xinhua quoted Rouhani as saying.

The recent reforms that the Iranian administration made to the currency market was a preemptive measure before the US likely decision against Iran, he said.

Besides, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has developed technical plans to surprise the US in case it scraps the deal, he said at a meeting of governmental officials.

Last week, Iran's Central Bank (CBI) banned non-governmental forex market from buying, selling and transferring foreign currencies in an attempt to regulate and stabilize currency rates.

The new move by the Iranian government comes as the forex market in Iran went out of control and the value of local currency rial plunged sharply over the past weeks.

In the meantime, Iran's atomic chief said here on Saturday that Tehran would give a surprising response if the United States decides to scrap the 2015 international nuclear deal.

"We have said for several times that we hope that it would not happen, but we are prepared in a way to surprise the other side," Ali Akbar Salehi said.

Iran is ready for any scenario from a technical point of view, the chief oh Atomic Energy Organization of Iran was quoted as saying.

Iran can resume enriching uranium to purity of 20 percent in four days if Washington decides to quit the deal, he warned.

Besides, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the CBS News on Friday that the Islamic republic is ready to resume its nuclear program if the United States pulls out of the nuclear deal.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi said that the US government's "obstructions" and moves against the 2015 nuclear deal has put the deal on the verge of collapse.

The JCPOA is an international agreement reached on July 14, 2015 between Iran and six world powers, namely China, France, Russia, Britain, the United States and Germany, plus the European Union.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly lashed out at the nuclear pact, in which the West promised to relieve sanctions on Tehran in exchange for a halt in Iran's efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.

Iran says it will neither tolerate anything beyond its commitment to the nuclear deal, nor accept changes to the agreement.

--IANS

qd/