Iran: Trump must adhere to nuclear deal

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on US president-elect Donald Trump to adhere to international agreements following his repeated threats during the election campaign to “renegotiate” the controversial nuclear deal with Tehran.

“The United States should fulfil its commitments in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the nuclear deal) as a multilateral international agreement,” Zarif was quoted by the Iranian Tasnim news agency as saying whilst on a visit to Romania.

“Every US president has to understand the realities of today’s world. The most important thing is that the future US president sticks to agreements, to engagements undertaken,” Zarif added.

Trump has vowed to renegotiate a “better deal” than last year’s agreement with world powers which lifted international sanctions in return for curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Tehran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful, but just yesterday was reported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as having exceeded the nuclear deal limit by acquiring more heavy water than it needs.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said he would happily “burn” the agreement if Trump decides to renege or attempt any changes.

The deputy commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, said it made no difference to Iran who was in the White House.

“When the Republicans were in power, they threatened us and showed their hostility… and when the Democrats were in power, the policies of the United States were the same,” Salami told Fars news agency.

Iran says the United States has not stuck to the spirit of the nuclear deal since it came into force in January, because a raft of unilateral US sanctions remain in place that have left it frozen out of the international banking system.

The US Congress is due to vote next month on whether to renew sanctions which Washington says are linked to Iran’s human rights record and ballistic missile tests.