Iran rejects idea of a new 'Trump deal' in nuclear row

By Parisa Hafezi

 

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during the cabinet meeting in Tehran, Iran, January 15, 2020. Official President website/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

 

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani dismissed on Wednesday a proposal for a new “Trump deal” aimed at resolving a nuclear row, saying it was a “strange” offer and criticising U.S. President Donald Trump for always breaking promises.

 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has praised Trump as a great dealmaker, called on Tuesday for the president to replace Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with major powers with his own new pact to ensure Tehran does not get an atomic weapon.

 

Trump said he agreed with Johnson that a “Trump deal” should replace the Iran nuclear deal. In a televised speech, Rouhani told Washington to return to the nuclear pact, which Washington abandoned in 2018, under which Tehran curbed its nuclear work in return for the lifting of international sanctions on Iran.

 

Since quitting the agreement, Washington has reimposed sanctions to throttle Iran’s oil exports as part of a “maximum pressure” policy.

 

The United States says its aim is force Tehran to agree a broader deal that puts stricter limits on its nuclear work, curbs its ballistic missile programme and ends its regional proxy wars. Iran says it will not negotiate as long as sanctions remain in place.

 

Tehran has gradually taken steps to reduce its compliance with the deal, which prompted Britain, France and Germany to formally accuse it on Tuesday of violating the terms.

 

“This Mr. Prime Minister in London, I don’t know how he thinks. He says let’s put aside the nuclear deal and put the Trump plan in action,” Rouhani said.

 

“If you take the wrong step, it will be to your detriment. Pick the right path. The right path is to return to the nuclear deal.”

 

Iran denies any intent to acquire nuclear weapons and says its breaches of the deal would be reversed if Washington lifts sanctions. “All of our activities are under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA),” said Rouhani.

 

“NOT DEAD”

 

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told Reuters that the deal was still alive: “No, it’s not dead. It’s not dead,” Zarif said on the sidelines of a conference in New Delhi.

 

But he told the conference Trump’s withdrawal from the earlier deal made new negotiations with Washington pointless: “I had a U.S. deal and the U.S. broke it. If I have a Trump deal, how long will it last?”

 

In its biggest step away from the agreement yet, Iran announced on Jan. 5 it would abandon all limitations on enriching uranium set down in the pact.

 

Britain, France and Germany reacted by activating a dispute mechanism in the deal on Tuesday, which eventually could lead to the reimposing of U.N. sanctions. Iran called this step a “strategic mistake”.

 

Rouhani upbraided European powers for not standing up to Trump. Iran says the Europeans have reneged on promises to find ways to circumvent the U.S. sanctions.

 

The flare-up in nuclear diplomacy comes as military confrontation between Washington and Tehran has also reached a new peak.

 

The United States killed an Iranian general in a drone strike in Baghdad on Jan. 3. Tehran responded a week ago by launching missiles at U.S. targets in Iraq. No Americans were hurt, but hours later Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner in what its authorities have acknowledged as a tragic mistake, prompting anti-government protests at home.

 

Rouhani repeated Iran’s longstanding position that peace can come to the Middle East only when the United States withdraws.

 

“American soldiers today are not secure in the region ... We don’t want there to be insecurity in the world. We want you to go from here, but not with war. We want you to leave the region intelligently and it’s to your benefit,” Rouhani said.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-01-15

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Why on earth would iran accept a trump deal when he already pulled out of the last one.

So iran must comply, and does, but the US doesnt. On a whim.

 

Best iran just wait until the adults are back in charge.

1 hour ago, Sujo said:

Why on earth would iran accept a trump deal when he already pulled out of the last one.

So iran must comply, and does, but the US doesnt. On a whim.

 

Best iran just wait until the adults are back in charge.

Indeed so. Making a new deal also means that all international deals lasts only until a new leader of a country says it's no longer valid. That means that treaties are no longer valued in longer term. 

 

Well, Russian government just resigned. I guess they can invalid loads of international treaties now?

No nuclear testings has been one of these. Let's see what happens to that treaty. 

4 hours ago, Sujo said:

Why on earth would iran accept a trump deal when he already pulled out of the last one.

So iran must comply, and does, but the US doesnt. On a whim.

 

Best iran just wait until the adults are back in charge.

 

It's going to be a long 5+ years for that. Iran has no bargaining power at all anymore. Let them sit in the Stone Age under sanctions until they cave. Let the protests happening grow. The regime is living on borrowed time.

Sooo let’s seee here,you break a treaty that was beeing complied with grab a proud country by the throat tell them you will bankrupt them unless the comply to your demands kill one of their government officials in a foreign country(we haven’t done something like that overtly since we offed Yamato in ww2) and expect them to rollover?the art of the deal eehhh no don’t think they are going to buy it

1 minute ago, Tug said:

Sooo let’s seee here,you break a treaty that was beeing complied with grab a proud country by the throat tell them you will bankrupt them unless the comply to your demands kill one of their government officials in a foreign country(we haven’t done something like that overtly since we offed Yamato in ww2) and expect them to rollover?the art of the deal eehhh no don’t think they are going to buy it

 

What are they going to do about it? Shoot down another plane?

6 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

What are they going to do about it? Shoot down another plane?

So why do I get denied to reply ? yes the US needs to shoot down another plane according to you

remember 1985 ?

Notice what companies like Boeing want: inability to make a deal and increased tensions via nuclear threat - is exactly what is happening. 

 

Big surprise. 

 

Go check a pie graph of the amount of money spent over there vs total US spending, then let me know what exactly US citizens have gotten out of it all. 

33 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

What are they going to do about it? Shoot down another plane?

No they will do what they normally do exist with the restrictions as they have always done

40 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

What are they going to do about it? Shoot down another plane?

Remember 1985 I think who sot down an airplane ?

47 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

What are they going to do about it? Shoot down another plane?

Develop nuclear weapons.

Try to keep up

28 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Develop nuclear weapons.

Try to keep up

 

They will never be allowed t have a nuclear weapon. Way ahead of you.

1 minute ago, Cryingdick said:

 

They will never be allowed t have a nuclear weapon. Way ahead of you.

Just like North Korea?

2 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Just like North Korea?

 

Pretty sad to develop something that will lead to the end of your countries existence if successful. Even if they did get one and fire it same result. They can sit there and rot under sanctions. 

Just now, Cryingdick said:

 

Pretty sad to develop something that will lead to the end of your countries existence if successful. Even if they did get one and fire it same result. They can sit there and rot under sanctions. 

The only reason NK exists is because it has nuclear weapons

56 minutes ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Pretty sad to develop something that will lead to the end of your countries existence if successful. Even if they did get one and fire it same result. They can sit there and rot under sanctions. 

I dont know seems to me the Europeans are sick of trump and his incompetence they just might make a deal in spite of trumps threats + trump might not be around much longer

Edited January 15, 20206 yr by Tug

1 hour ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Pretty sad to develop something that will lead to the end of your countries existence if successful. Even if they did get one and fire it same result. They can sit there and rot under sanctions. 

Why not develop a nuclear weapon as a deterrent? Sit on it just like North Korea and the one sided situation at the moment with Israel the only nuclear power in the region ends. Mutually assured destruction = level playing field = nobody employs the last resort.

 

Then we can sit down and discuss a comprehensive Middle East peace deal that irons out all the injustices in the region, not just Trump's current demand for total capitulation from Iran.

 

At the moment what's in it for Iran to halt its program ..other than lifting of sanctions while other countries in the region get exactly what they want without any concessions at all.

 

If Trump wants Iran to rein in its proxies in the region, USA should do the same with its own allies. Quid pro quo.

5 hours ago, sirineou said:

The only reason NK exists is because it has nuclear weapons

 NK exists because Russia is happy with Kim building nuclear weapons as a strategic offset in its confrontation to the West. Saves Putin countless billions.

 

Wait.      Who is Iran's sole major ally?

 

12 hours ago, Sujo said:

Why on earth would iran accept a trump deal when he already pulled out of the last one.

Because they need the money.

 

Have you noticed the others members of the agreement have begun the process of reimplementing sanctions?

 

 

12 hours ago, Sujo said:

So iran must comply, and does, but the US doesnt. On a whim.

 

They were/are not in compliance. 
 

Why do you claim it was on a whim? Many people have been against it from the start,

 

12 hours ago, Sujo said:

Best iran just wait until the adults are back in charge.

Hilarious 

6 hours ago, sirineou said:

Develop nuclear weapons.

Try to keep up

Yes, they have been developing nuclear weapons since the ‘70’s and the economic benefits of the Obama agreement helped them.

31 minutes ago, rabas said:

 NK exists because Russia is happy with Kim building nuclear weapons as a strategic offset in its confrontation to the West. Saves Putin countless billions.

 

Wait.      Who is Iran's sole major ally?

 

You have a point if you replace Russia with China.

7 hours ago, Tug said:

Sooo let’s seee here,you break a treaty that was beeing complied with grab a proud country by the throat tell them you will bankrupt them unless the comply to your demands kill one of their government officials in a foreign country(we haven’t done something like that overtly since we offed Yamato in ww2) and expect them to rollover?the art of the deal eehhh no don’t think they are going to buy it

It wasn’t/isn’t a treaty, it never was. If it were, Trump couldn’t have opted out.
 

While Iran way have been in “general” compliance they were not in strict compliance.

 

In any event, without “no-knock” inspections there is no way of knowing that they were in compliance.

 

The “general” has only become a hero to the left after Trump killed him. He has been listed as a terrorist kill list for twenty years and (I believe) both Nancy and Schumer are on tape calling him out as a terrorist.

 

why do you claim he was killed on a whim? 

 

Why was he in Iraq anyway? Per the U.N. was he not disallowed from leaving Iran? 

6 hours ago, sirineou said:

The only reason NK exists is because it has nuclear weapons

You mean like Cuba? 

I think you could say that about Israel, but to say it about North Korea is silliness.  

Iran went through that very long and very bloody war with Iraq. They can handle the sanctions.

If I were Iran I (or proxies) would hit or threaten to hit some Trump properties (I assume he owns some spots, not just rent out his name). This would

1. perhaps show why putting assets into blind trust would have been a prudent move

2. Trump cares about money, his money, as much or more than being center of attention

3. Could he rally the public around going to war to defend his property? "Remember the Trump Tower Istanbul!" falls short of "Remember the Alamo, the Maine, Pearl Harbor, etc"

 

44 minutes ago, stevenl said:

You have a point if you replace Russia with China.

China's primary interest in the Korean peninsula is preventing Western influence especially keeping it from creeping up to its border, China is not happy about NK nukes.

 

Putin's Russia with it's third world economy obsesses over nukes. Just last year a secret Russian nuclear rocket engine blew up and was heard in Norway, in addition to all the radiation spewed around.

 

Russia was caught secretly supplying fuel to North Korea during the UN embargo. China was more prone to compliance.

9 minutes ago, Emdog said:

Iran went through that very long and very bloody war with Iraq. They can handle the sanctions.

If I were Iran I (or proxies) would hit or threaten to hit some Trump properties (I assume he owns some spots, not just rent out his name). This would

1. perhaps show why putting assets into blind trust would have been a prudent move

2. Trump cares about money, his money, as much or more than being center of attention

3. Could he rally the public around going to war to defend his property? "Remember the Trump Tower Istanbul!" falls short of "Remember the Alamo, the Maine, Pearl Harbor, etc"

 

“They”, the rich ruling class never suffer under sanctions. 
 

Killing them does.

Although I'm horrified by the idea of a country run by backward looking religious zealots having nuclear weapons, I can understand why they feel they need them 

 

So we should be sympathetic and understanding when we nuke 'em first.

Note to Trump. Your d-swinging tough guy act will not work with Iran. They have lived through wars, sanctions and revolutions and is not your average adversary that you can beat down and win. You have pushed their leaders to the corner and they can’t display weakness to their people. They don’t trust you with any new deals. Military acts and sanctions will never win when the leaders and people have resolve. You have messed up a good agreement by your idiosyncratic style. If you continue with this approach, you only make matters worse. Back off, eat some humble pie and revert back to the JCPOA or you just creat another nation with nuclear capabilities. 
 

22 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

Note to Trump. Your d-swinging tough guy act will not work with Iran. They have lived through wars, sanctions and revolutions and is not your average adversary that you can beat down and win. You have pushed their leaders to the corner and they can’t display weakness to their people. They don’t trust you with any new deals. Military acts and sanctions will never win when the leaders and people have resolve. You have messed up a good agreement by your idiosyncratic style. If you continue with this approach, you only make matters worse. Back off, eat some humble pie and revert back to the JCPOA or you just creat another nation with nuclear capabilities. 
 

I doubt very much Trump reads the TVF. 
 

We keep hearing about how great the deal was, but seriously, aside from it being Obama’s and providing economic relief to Iran, what was good about it?

 

The JCPOA is/was creating another nation with nuclear capabilities. 
 

 

 

Edited January 16, 20206 yr by mogandave
Added text

Only 10 more months of the stable genius baby being in charge of the play pen and then back to reality,truth,morals and ethics and hopefully a more stable world.Only down side is the world will have to find someone else to laugh at.