Iran is asking European countries to stay in the 2015 nuclear deal despite already violating the agreement.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatened Western powers on Wednesday while pledging that Tehran would not pursue a nuclear bomb with or without a deal in place, according to Reuters.
"Do you want to make the same mistake?" Rouhani asked, referring to President Trump withdrawing the United States from the deal and reinstating sanctions on Iran. "I am emphasizing that if the Europeans make a mistake and violate the deal, they will be responsible for the consequences of their actions."
Britain, France, and Germany triggered the agreement’s dispute mechanism on Jan. 14, a first step toward potentially scrapping the deal and reinstating United Nations sanctions on Tehran. The U.S. pulled out of the deal in 2018, and Iran has openly flaunted the deal’s restrictions since.
"Iran has continued to break key restrictions set out in the [nuclear agreement]. Iran’s actions are inconsistent with the provisions of the nuclear agreement and have increasingly severe and non-reversible proliferation implications," a joint statement by the foreign ministers of Britain, France, and Germany said.
U.S. tensions with Iran escalated after Iranian terror leader Gen. Qassem Soleimani orchestrated a violent protest outside of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, in December. Trump responded by ordering a drone strike that killed Soleimani on Jan. 2.
Iran sought retribution for Soleimani by launching ballistic missiles at two Iraqi military bases where U.S. soldiers were stationed. No American or Iraqi troops were killed in the strike, though 11 U.S. servicemen received treatment for concussions. Several more were flown to Germany for treatment this week.
No comments:
Post a Comment