Iran says it will stay in the nuclear deal even if Trump quits
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani followed his Sunday warning against U.S. withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, with a Monday announcement that Tehran will remain committed to the arrangement regardless of President Trump's choices.
"We are not worried about America's cruel decisions ... We are prepared for all scenarios and no change will occur in our lives next week," Rouhani said on a state media broadcast. "If we can get what we want from a deal without America, then Iran will continue to remain committed to the deal. What Iran wants is our interests to be guaranteed by its non-American signatories ... In that case, getting rid of America's mischievous presence will be fine for Iran."
In addition to the U.S. and Iran, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Germany are JCPOA signatories. Rouhani added Monday that if JCPOA participant nations "want to make sure that we are not after a nuclear bomb, we have said repeatedly that we are not and we will not be."
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No other nations have suggested they may leave. President Trump, who has called the deal "insane" and "ridiculous," must extend a waiver of U.S. sanctions on Iran by May 12 to keep the U.S. in the agreement.
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
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