PHOTO: President Rouhani “Nuclear deal cannot be changed with the decision of a single administration”


Iran’s regime has welcomed the election of Donald Trump as US President, but has expressed its concern about the future of the July 2015
nuclear deal between the Islamic Republic and the 5+1 Powers.

Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the National Security Council, said he hoped the election would cause US officials to review “policies based on disregard for the policies of the majority” and to reconsider “the spending of countless resources to pursue policies based on domination, intervention, and war in other countries”.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the Chairman of Parliament’s National Security Committee, went further in hailing the choice of Trump as a nation-wide vote against “warmongering policies” in the Middle East. However, he said Iran “must wait” to see the details of Trump’s policies.

Committee spokesman Hossein Naghavi Hosseini added, “We hope that the developments of the American election are a lesson for the Republicans to abandon their policies of creating crises and intervening militarily in other countries.”

But for President Rouhani, the surprise choice of Trump brought concern. Facing pressure from Iranian hardliners over the stuttering implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, with continued US sanctions and Tehran’s economic difficulties, Rouhani said:

Iran’s understanding of the JCPOA is that the deal is not an agreement with just one country or administration. Rather it was strengthened as a UNSC resolution, and it cannot be changed with the decision of a single administration.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif echoed, “It is important that the future U.S. president is committed to implementing its multilateral commitments under the JCPOA. We are certain that the international community holds this expectation of the U.S. as well.”

Kamal Dehghani, the deputy chairman of Parliament’s National Security Committee, tried to offer reassurance:

The U.S. pursues its own interests in the international field, and naturally it must abide by international agreements and contracts in order to achieve these interests. It is possible that many of the issues were presented with slogans and electoral propaganda. Usually when a person becomes president of a powerful country, however, that individual makes decisions based upon existing realities.

(hat tip to Iran Tracker for translations)