Iran will not renegotiate the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, the Islamic Republic’s foreign ministry said ahead of a May 12 deadline by U.S. President Donald Trump on whether or not America will still in the accord or re-impose sanctions.
“Let me make it absolutely clear once and for all. We will neither outsource our security, nor we will renegotiate or add on to a deal we have already implemented in good faith,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a video address titled “A message from Iran” and posted on YouTube.
Zarif said his country has been in compliance with the 2015 deal and instead accused the United States of “consistently” violating the agreement, “particularly by bullying others to preventing businesses to return to Iran.”
The Iranian foreign minister also accused the Europeans of “appeasement” in their efforts to persuade Trump to remain in the nuclear deal by possibly offering a new deal that would address some of Trump’s concerns with the agreement, such as Iran’s ballistic-missile program, sunset clauses or Tehran’s regional aggression.
“This appeasement entails promises of a new deal that would include matters we all decided to exclude at the outset of our negotiations, including Iran’s defensive capabilities and regional influence,” stated Zarif.
“The response from some Europeans has been to offer the United States more concessions, from our pocket,” he continued. “We have not attacked anyone in centuries.”
The message from Zarif also comes following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s presentation earlier in the week when he accused Iran of lying about the status of its nuclear program during the negotiations over the 2015 deal.
Zarif warned that Iran would respond if the United States continued to “violate” the deal.
“Iran stands firm in the face of futile attempts at bullying. But if the U.S. continues to violate the agreement, or if it withdraws altogether,” he warned, “we will exercise our right to respond, in a manner of our choosing.”