Iran MPs table motion on response to Trump decision

Iranian lawmakers have denounced US withdrawal from the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement, introducing a motion that calls for "proportional and reciprocal" action by the government.  

MP Mojtaba Zonnour, who heads the nuclear committee in parliament, said Wednesday the motion asks President Hassan Rouhani's government to secure "necessary guarantees" from the remaining signatories.

If the guarantees by Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China are not met, Iran should resume high-level uranium enrichment, the lawmaker from the holy city of Qom said.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump defied his European allies to announce US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), declaring the deal a “decaying and rotten structure” and “defective at its core.” 

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said Wednesday Trump's decision to leave the JCPOA and re-impose anti-Iran sanctions was a violation of the accord that would isolate the US. 

The lawmaker, once Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, described Trump's remarks as "crude and foolish," saying the US president's abandoning of the nuclear deal was a "diplomatic show." 

"It seems that Mr. Trump does not have the mental capacity to deal with issues and the language of force is more effective for this person so that he could face the consequences of his arrogant characteristics," Larijani said.

Unless Europe, Russia and China fill this international vacuum, he said, "the Islamic Republic will bring him (Trump) to his senses with its nuclear measures."

The top Iranian parliamentarian said the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran needs to have full readiness to resume all the country’s nuclear activities and take countermeasures following Foreign Ministry's talks with Europe.

"Under the current situation, Iran has no commitment whatsoever to be put in a position it was in the past as regards the nuclear issue," Larijani said. "I am not sure whether the European signatories of the deal will fulfill their promises," he added. 

The Iranian people, Larijani said, are required to stand together in the face of the "greedy, covetous and unscrupulous" enemy.

MP Ali Mottahari said there was a "limited opportunity" for European powers to "bring a solid guarantee" that would allow Iran to stick with the deal.

"But if this doesn't happen then it's possible that we will exit the nuclear deal or take other steps," IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri said the enemies had resorted to an "economic war" when they saw that they could not launch a military attack against the Islamic Republic.

"The JCPOA was not a favorable choice for our nation, and was not something we should have accepted, but the nation accepted it as an ultimatum to the world. However, this arrogant power (the US) did not even stand by its signature," Baqeri stressed.

Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, the chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), also said the "vicious" US withdrawal from the JCPOA "once again proved that the Americans are by no means reliable concerning their commitments."

"The US exit from the JCPOA showed that the issue of nuclear enrichment is a pretext and their issue is Iran's military and missile authority as well as its influence in the region and the regional resistance," he said.

“It’s clear that between Iran and America, the Europeans cannot make an independent decision and are tied to America, and thus the fate of the JCPOA is clear," Jafari added.

Commander of Iran's Army Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi said the main damage caused by the nuclear agreement was giving the US legitimacy.

"The biggest damage of the JCPOA was legitimizing and sitting at the negotiating table with America," he said, expressing hope that the US withdrawal from the deal would be a lesson to Saudi Arabia which is seeking Washington's appeasement.

Following Trump's decision, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani instructed the Foreign Ministry to negotiate with European countries, Russia, and China in the coming weeks.

PressTV-Rouhani: US never complied with the JCPOA

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Tehran has always complied to its commitments to the JCPOA, while the US has never complied with its commitments.

“I have ordered the Foreign Ministry to negotiate with the European countries and the two other powers China and Russia in coming weeks,” he said in a televised speech on Tuesday.

“If at the end of this short period, we conclude that we can fully benefit from the JCPOA with the cooperation the five countries … the deal would remain,” he said.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk