BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 17
Trend:
What was signed on July 15, 2015 (JCPOA) is irreversible, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said.
"When Trump withdrew the JCPOA under the pressure of the Saudi Arabia and Iran hawks inside the United States and Israel, we were at the United Nations at the end of September 2018 (to attend UN annual general assembly), Trump sent us a message eight times to meet at night," President Hassan Rouhani said this morning during the weekly meeting of the cabinet, Trend reports citing IRNA.
"The French President Emanuel Macron asked me to agree with a meeting (with Trump). Several presidents came to our hotel room and asked us on behalf of Donald Trump to add a few words in Nuclear Deal," he said.
He went on to say that Trump wanted Iran to negotiate the missile and the regional issues within the JCPOA framework.
"I said that no word will be added or subtracted in any way," Rouhani said.
He addressed the EU countries and added that Europeans should know that if Iran raised the issue of missiles and the region in the framework of JCPOA, Trump himself would return to the deal. He noted that the current JCPOA will not be changed either the EU accepts or not.
Referring to a phone talk with his Swiss counterpart Guy Parmelin, Rouhani said that if the sanctions are truly lifted by the US, Iran will resume the commitments that it has reduced under the deal.
"Americans should explicitly declare and take steps to fulfill their obligations," he said adding that Iran also will fulfill all its obligations after the US.
"People should not doubt that the US has no choice but to return to JCPOA," he added.
In another part of his remarks, referring to the parliament's law on lifting sanctions, Rouhani said that in paragraph 6 of this law, Iran must withdraw from the Additional Protocol on February 23.
"What will happen between Iran and IAEA, will be based on safeguards," Rouhani said.
Saying that Iran will not expel any inspectors, Rouhani said that country will accept the director-general of the IAEA to come to Tehran and negotiate.
"We do not want our nuclear program to be unmonitored. Expelling the inspectors, means we are looking for a nuclear weapon," he noted.