In the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that the United States will be pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on the Islamic Republic, several world leaders have reacted.
Iran President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that Iran will remain committed to a multinational nuclear deal following President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the 2015 agreement designed to deny Tehran the ability to build nuclear weapons.
“If we achieve the deal's goals in cooperation with other members of the deal, it will remain in place... By exiting the deal, America has officially undermined its commitment to an international treaty,” Mr. Rouhani said in a televised speech.
he added that Iran was ready to resume its nuclear activities after consultations with other world powers which are part of the agreement.
Mr. Trump took a brave and correct decision to cancel the nuclear deal with Iran, which was “a recipe for disaster,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu . The Israeli leader, who has called for the deal between Western powers and Iran to be fixed or cancelled, spoke moments after Trump announced his decision in a speech at the White House.
Mr. Netanyahu said in a two-minute televised address in Hebrew and English that the current deal was “a recipe for disaster, a disaster for our region, a disaster for the peace of the world.”
Saudi Arabia welcomed Mr. Trump's decision. “Iran used economic gains from the lifting of sanctions to continue its activities to destablise the region, particularly by developing ballistic missiles and supporting terrorist groups in the region,” according to a statement carried on Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television.
Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally, has been at loggerheads with Shi'ite Iran for decades, and the countries have fought a long-running proxy war in the Middle East.
Turkey will continue its trade with Iran as much as possible and will not be answerable to anyone else, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said.
“From now on, we will carry out our trade with Iran, within the possible framework, until the end, and we will not give account to anyone for this,” Mr. Zeybekci said in an interview with broadcaster CNN Turk.
A spokesman for Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also said that the decision will cause instability and new conflicts. In a tweet, Ibrahim Kalin also said the multilateral agreement would continue with the other nations, and added that Turkey would continue to oppose all forms of nuclear weapons.
Britain, Germany and France urged the United States not to take steps that would make life harder for other countries that still wanted to stick to the nuclear deal with Iran.
“We urge the U.S. to ensure that the structures of the JCPOA (deal) can remain intact, and to avoid taking action which obstructs its full implementation by all other parties to the deal,” the leaders of Britain, Germany and France said in a joint statement provided by Prime Minister Theresa May's office.
Ms. May spoke by telephone with France's President Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel after Mr. Trump made his statement.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama , under whose administration the Iran nuclear agreement was reached in 2015, said on Tuesday that Mr. Trump's decision to withdraw from the deal was “misguided.”
“I believe that the decision to put the JCPOA at risk without any Iranian violation of the deal is a serious mistake,” Mr. Obama said in a statement.
French President Emmanuel Macron said France would work on a broader agreement covering Iran's nuclear activity, ballistics programme and regional activities
“We will work collectively on a broader framework, covering nuclear activity, the post-2025 period, ballistic activity, and stability in the Middle-East, notably Syria, Yemen, and Iraq,” Mr. Macron said on Twitter moments after Mr. Trump spoke.
Mr. Macron also said the nuclear non-proliferation regime was at stake.
German Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Roth said on Twitter that Mr. Trump's decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was “not good news from Washington”.
He added: “Now we Europeans must save what can be saved” of the Iran nuclear deal.
Italy's Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said the Iran nuclear agreement must be preserved. "(The agreement) contributes to the security in the region and puts a brake on nuclear proliferation,” Mr. Gentiloni said in a tweet, adding that Italy would stand with its European allies, confirming commitments made.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on the remaining parties to the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) to abide by their commitments.
Mr. Guterres said in a statement that he was “deeply concerned” by Mr. Trump's decision. “It is essential that all concerns regarding the implementation of the plan be addressed through the mechanisms established in the JCPOA. Issues not directly related to the JCPOA should be addressed without prejudice to preserving the agreement and its accomplishments,” Mr. Guterres said.
The top European Union diplomat, Federica Mogherini, on called on the international community to stick to the Iran nuclear deal despite U.S. President Donald Trump announcing he was pulling out and would reimpose sanctions on Tehran.
“I am particularly worried by the announcement tonight of new sanctions,” Mr. Mogherini said.
“The European Union is determined to preserve it,” she said of the world powers' 2015 agreement with Tehran. “Together with the rest of the international community, we will preserve this nuclear deal.”
Syria has “strongly" condemned Mr. Trump's decision, saying it will increase tensions in the world, state media reported on Tuesday citing the Foreign Ministry.
Syria is a close ally of Iran, which has helped President Bashar al-Assad in his war against rebels trying to unseat him.
Published - May 09, 2018 12:34 am IST
