Alwaght- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has slammed US President Donald Trump's reluctant announcement on Iran's nuclear sanctions waiver as a "desperate attempt" to undermine a "non-negotiable" international deal.
“Trump's policy and announcement amount to desperate attempts to undermine a solid multilateral agreement, maliciously violating its paragraphs 26, 28 and 29," Zarif tweeted on Friday, in reaction to Trump's stance against the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The "JCPOA is not renegotiable: rather than repeating tired rhetoric, US must bring itself into full compliance -just like Iran," Zarif added.
Despite his hatred of the Iran nuclear deal, earlier Friday Trump left the accord intact for now – but has given European allies 120 days to agree to a new deal or the US will pull out.
Trump is waiving nuclear sanctions against Iran for the last time, administration officials said.
The action is the third time Trump has given a reprieve to the agreement negotiated by the Obama administration, even though he has called it “the worst deal ever”.
Germany was the first European country to react to Trump's statement. In response to an email from Reuters, a German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said that Berlin will consult with its European partners, Britain and France, on how to proceed in implementing the JCPOA.
"The federal government will continue to campaign for the full implementation of the nuclear agreement," she said.
Trump's statement came a day after the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, together with foreign ministers of France, the UK and Germany delivered a strong defense of the deal in separate statements, which were issued following a meeting with Zarif in Brussels.