Iran warns US not to exit nuclear deal

Iran's President on Sunday warned the US not to abandon the nuclear agreement signed between Tehran and six major powers, according to his official website.

Hassan Rouhani repeated his refusal to negotiate a new deal in place of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he would pull out of on May 12, Efe reported.

"If the US exits the JCPOA, it will soon regret it," Rouhani said during a speech in northeast Iran.

"We don't favour war and tension, but will strongly defend our rights," he asserted.

"We have lived up to our obligations in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," he said, stressing that Iran's "commitment" to the deal had been recognized by the international community, with the exception of the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Trump is seeking to add additional conditions to the agreement as a pretext to withdraw, such as limits on Iran's military capabilities, especially its ballistic missile system, as well as Tehran's support for the Syrian regime and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, among others.

"We tell the world explicitly that we will not negotiate our defensive weapons with anyone," Rouhani said, adding "We will combat terrorism anywhere in the region and we won't let another ISIS be formed."

The JCPOA, signed between Iran and the US, Russia, China, France, the UK and Germany, limits Tehran's atomic program in exchange for lifting international sanctions, but does not include any reference to conventional weapons or the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic.

--IANS

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