Nuclear Deal Benefits Everyone: Iranian President

Speaking at a ceremony in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Tuesday, President Rouhani referred to the recent remarks by US President Donald Trump, who has called the Iran deal “the worst… ever negotiated,” and countered by saying that the deal is to the benefit of all.

Referring to the nuclear negotiations that culminated in the deal in July 2015, the Iranian president said, “We were able to present our arguments to a big political power and to get the negotiations — with logic, rationality, and dignity — to a point where America’s new president now cannot tolerate it.”

“Of course,” President Rouhani stressed, “this is a win-win deal and to the benefit of everyone and the region.”

The nuclear accord, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was reached between Iran on the one side, and the US, the UK, France, Germany, China, and Russia on the other.

The administration of US President Donald Trump, which took over on January 20 this year, has said the deal did not benefit American businesses as much as it did those of the other parties to the agreement. He has previously threatened to unilaterally scrap it but faces pressure from the rest of the parties, which say the deal must stand.

President Rouhani said in his Tuesday remarks that the nuclear deal can be a model for dozens of other negotiations to be held and lead to the security and stability of the region. He referred as an example of such talks to the negotiations going on in the Kazakh capital of Astana in an effort to find a political solution to the Syrian conflict.

In January, Astana hosted two days of discussions between the Syrian government and opposition groups. Iran, Russia, and Turkey had organized the talks and acted as mediators. Experts from the three countries and the United Nations also held a follow-up technical meeting in Astana on Monday.