LONDON: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned US President Donald Trump on Tuesday to stay in the nuclear deal Tehran signed with world powers in 2015, or face “severe consequences”, as other signatories stepped up efforts to save the agreement.
Trump has said that unless European allies fix what he has called “terrible flaws” in the deal by May 12, he will restore US economic sanctions on Iran, which would be a severe blow to the pact.
The other powers that signed the deal - Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France - have all said they want to preserve the agreement that curbed Iran’s nuclear programme in return for lifting most sanctions.
“I am telling those in the White House that if they do not live up to their commitments, the Iranian government will firmly react,” Rouhani said in a speech broadcast live on state television.
“If anyone betrays the deal, they should know that they would face severe consequences,” he told a cheering crowd of thousands gathered in the city of Tabriz. “Iran is prepared for all possible situations,” he added.
French President Emmanuel Macron is in Washington, trying to convince Trump not to tear up the accord.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday he had agreed with his Chinese counterpart that Moscow and Beijing would try to block any US attempt to sabotage the nuclear deal.
Iran has warned that it will ramp up its nuclear programme if the deal collapses.
Iran warns Trump to remain in the nuclear deal or ‘face severe consequences’
Iran warns Trump to remain in the nuclear deal or ‘face severe consequences’
- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned US President Donald Trump to stay in the nuclear deal Tehran signed with world powers in 2015
- Trump has said that unless European allies fix what he has called “terrible flaws” in the deal by May 12, he will restore US economic sanctions on Iran, which would be a severe blow to the pact
Israeli fire kills two in Gaza as truce deal moves to next phase
- Medics said two men were killed by Israeli forces in eastern Khan Younis
- The two sides have traded blame over the truce violations
CAIRO: Israeli fire killed at least two Palestinians in Gaza on Thursday, health officials said, in the latest violence rattling a fragile ceasefire as Hamas and Israel looked to implement the second phase of the US-brokered Gaza peace plan.
Medics said two men were killed by Israeli forces in eastern Khan Younis, in an area adjacent to where the army operates. The Israeli military told Reuters it wasn’t aware of any casualties as a result of Israeli fire on Thursday.
The Gaza health ministry said Israeli airstrikes, tank shelling and gunfire have killed at least 490 people since the truce took effect in October after two years of war that widely demolished the Palestinian enclave.
Israel said four soldiers have been killed by Palestinian militants in the small coastal territory over the same period.
The two sides have traded blame over the truce violations.
By advancing to phase two, the US and mediator partners Egypt and Qatar must confront the more contentious issue of Hamas disarmament, which the group has long rejected. The plan also calls for deploying an international peacekeeping force.
