Iran “will never renegotiate” its landmark 2015 nuclear deal with the U.S. should President Trump move to dismantle the agreement later this week, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Wednesday.
Zarif told Iranian lawmakers that if the Trump administration takes to cancel the nuclear deal or change its terms, President Hassan Rouhani will give the U.S. ” a more crushing response.” The foreign minister’s remarks were reported by state-run media in Iran.
Trump is expected to decertify the agreement later this week, after spending months criticizing the “one-sided” deal and those who originally brokered it. The president has often accused Iran of not living up to the agreement or adhering to its terms.
Several European leaders have encouraged Trump to stick to the current agreement, claiming Iran has complied with the terms that were initially laid out. Zarif said Iranian leaders are not interested in revisiting the agreement or expanding its scope.
The foreign minister’s comments came hours after Rouhani told his Cabinet that Trump’s decision this week will show “which is the rebellious government, and which is the side that violates international rules.”
“It won’t be our failure at all, but a failure of the other side,” the Iranian president said, according to state TV.
Multiple administration officials have hinted that Trump may make an announcement about the deal on Thursday, giving Congress 60 days to determine how to proceed if he chooses to decertify the agreement.
