Iran could quit nuclear deal in ‘hours’ if US imposes new sanctions, says Iranian leader

new sanctions, says Iranian leader
"If America wants to go back to the experience [of
imposing sanctions] Iran would certainly return in a
short time – not a week or a month but within hours –
to conditions more advanced than before the start of
negotiations," President Rouhani told a session of
parliament broadcast live on state television.
Iran says new US sanctions breach the agreement it
reached in 2015 with the United States, Russia, China
and three European powers in which it agreed to curb
its nuclear work in return for the lifting of most
sanctions.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said
the new US sanctions were unrelated to the Iran
nuclear deal and that Iran must be held responsible for
"its missile launches, support for terrorism, disregard
for human rights, and violations of UN Security Council
resolutions."
Mr Trump signed into law new sanctions on Iran which
target their missile programs
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"Iran
cannot
be
allowed
to use
the
nuclear
deal to
hold
the
world hostage ... The nuclear deal must not become
'too big to fail'," Ambassador Haley said in a
statement, responding to President Rouhani.
Haley will travel to Vienna next week to discuss Iran's
nuclear activities with UN atomic watchdog officials as
part of Washington's review of Teheran's compliance
with the 2015 nuclear deal.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "considers the
(Iran nuclear deal) to be one of the utmost diplomatic
achievements in our collective search for peace and
security," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told
reporters.
"We need to do whatever we can to preserve it," Mr
Dujarric said.
The US Treasury imposed sanctions on six Iranian
firms in late July for their role in the development of a
ballistic missile program after Tehran launched a
rocket capable of putting a satellite into orbit.
In early August, US President Donald Trump signed
into law new sanctions on Iran, Russia and North
Korea passed by the US Congress. The sanctions in
that bill also target Iran's missile programs as well as
human rights abuses.
The United States imposed unilateral sanctions after
saying Iran's ballistic missile tests violated a UN
resolution, which endorsed the nuclear deal and called
upon Tehran not to undertake activities related to
ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear
weapons, including launches using such technology.
USS Thunderbolt: the ship
that fired on Iranian boat
Tue, July 25, 2017
The USS Thunderbolt reportedly fired a warning
shot at an Iranian boat in the Persian Gulf
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Patrol coastal ship USS Thunderbolt (PC 12), front,
transits alongside other PCs during a formation
exercise [Creative Commons]
CREATIVE COMMONS 1 of 5
It stopped short of explicitly barring such activity.
Iran denies its missile development breaches the
resolution, saying its missiles are not designed to carry
nuclear weapons.
"The world has clearly seen that under Trump, America
has ignored international agreements and, in addition
to undermining the (nuclear deal), has broken its word
on the Paris agreement and the Cuba accord ... and
that the United States is not a good partner or a
reliable negotiator," President Rouhani said.
President Trump said last week he did not believe that
Iran was living up to the spirit of the nuclear deal.

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