In a telephone conversation with French President Emannuel Macron late Wednesday, he added that the JCPOA was clinched in the wake of marathon talks from 2003-2015 and it is an international pact, as it was confirmed by the United Nations Security Council.
Describing US President Donald Trump’s decision to quit the deal as cheap, Rouhani said that Iran will pursue its national interests by remaining committed to the deal.
Rouhani regretted that the opposing side did not have satisfactory performance regarding the deal.
Unlike Trump’s imaginations, enrichment in Iran was never aimed at building nuclear weapons; rather it was in line with promoting national pride and meeting the Iranian nation’s needs, Rouhani said.
Noting that the Iranian and European foreign ministers and experts should make a clear and transparent decision on JCPOA-related issues in a short period of time, the chief executive stressed that Iran’s interests in major JCPOA-related issues including oil sales, banking relations, investments and insurance should be clearly identified and safeguarded.
Meanwhile, European companies involved in Iranian contracts and investments should declare their stance clearly in the face of US exit from the deal.
If we make a clear decision on the JCPOA, we can witness a wide-scale interaction between Iran and Europe,” he said.
“Today, we have a historic responsibility towards the JCPOA and history will prove in the future that Trump made a big mistake,” he said, pointing out that unfortunately, EU lost a four-month opportunity which can be used for preserving the JCPOA and instead spent it on convincing the US new administration to keep the deal.
During the phone talk, Macron regretted Trump’s decision to quit the deal, saying that European states in a collective reaction announced their protest at the move.
Noting that Trump’s decision has even drawn a great opposition within the US, he underlined the need for full adherence to the deal by all the parties, saying that the EU will unanimously strive for maintaining the deal.
He further maintained that Iran-EU cooperation will greatly contribute to regional peace and security.
US withdrawal from the international pact drew fierce criticism from around the world, the UK, France and Germany, among others, have issued a joint statement criticizing President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out the US from the nuclear deal with Iran.
