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Rouhani says Iran took ‘minimum’ action on nuclear deal
TEHRAN, June 19, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Iran took the “minimum” action it could
over the failure of its partners in a landmark 2015 nuclear deal to honour
their commitments, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday.
Rouhani announced on May 8 that Tehran would stop observing some
restrictions it had agreed to in the agreement, in retaliation for
Washington’s withdrawal last year.
Iran’s atomic energy organization said on Monday the country would soon
pass the amount of low-enriched uranium allowed under the deal.
“What we are doing, despite some countries’ propaganda against it, is the
minimum measure Iran can take,” the official government website quoted
Rouhani as saying during a Wednesday cabinet meeting.
“The basis and the spirit of the (deal) have been seriously damaged by
other parties,” he said, adding that the accord’s goal was for Iran to have
normal economic ties with the world.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have deepened since the US
withdrawal as Iran has faced the crippling economic blow of renewed US
sanctions.
Washington has also bolstered its military presence in the Middle East in
a campaign of “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.
“No one can protest or blame us. We act based on law and in the framework”
of the deal, Rouhani said.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1841 hrs