Rouhani: Leaving the JCPOA Will Have a Very Heavy Cost for the U.S.

Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, in an interview with CNN, responded to the question of what would happen if the U.S. withdraws from the JCPOA, stating: "The JCPOA is a multilateral international commitment approved by the United Nations Security Council. Leaving this commitment will have a very heavy cost for the U.S." Mr. Rouhani added: "I don't think the Americans will bear this heavy cost for something that will be completely useless for them. Their exit from the JCPOA has no benefit for them, but at the same time, it will completely destroy global trust in the U.S." Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has warned that if he concludes that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is not being strict enough in monitoring Iran's nuclear program, the U.S. will withdraw from the JCPOA. Yukiya Amano, the Director General of the IAEA, who previously stated that the agency's inspections could include military sites in Iran if necessary, emphasized on Monday that Iran is still "committed to its agreements." Regarding Iran's reaction if the U.S. exits the JCPOA, Mr. Rouhani said: "We will have various options available regarding this issue. If the U.S. withdraws from the JCPOA, we have planned and thought about what actions we will take. Therefore, if such a thing happens, the world will quickly witness Iran's actions. If Iran wants to return to the pre-JCPOA conditions, it can do so within a few days." Although the Trump administration has confirmed Iran's compliance with the nuclear agreement in its reports to Congress twice, it has repeatedly expressed the opinion that Iran's "destructive and destabilizing" behaviors violate the spirit of the nuclear agreement. The U.S. believes that Iran is committed to participating in international peace and stability under the JCPOA, but actions such as "pursuing ballistic missile programs," "involvement in escalating conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon," and "supporting attacks on Israel" contradict this. Mr. Rouhani stated regarding the North Korean crisis: "Our position on nuclear weapons is clear. We are fundamentally opposed to nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction and believe that all nuclear weapons in the world should be destroyed and eliminated." He added: "Threats cannot resolve this issue. Military confrontation cannot resolve this issue either. This issue must be resolved only through diplomacy and negotiation." White House officials, on the eve of President Trump's first speech at the United Nations General Assembly, say that Trump will speak about the threats from North Korea and Iran in this speech. The Security Council recently approved new sanctions against Pyongyang in response to North Korea's sixth and strongest nuclear test, targeting the export of textiles and the import of crude oil to the country. In this context, Israel's complaint about the "delay of the agency in visiting suspicious nuclear sites in Iran," Qasemi's reaction to new U.S. sanctions against several Iranian citizens, Trump's warning about the "lack of strictness" of the agency in inspecting Iran's facilities, and France's renewed call for strengthening the Iran nuclear agreement after 2025 are noted. The dispute between Iranian and American representatives over the agency's inspection of Iran's facilities continues, and Trump has stated regarding the future of the JCPOA: "You will see what happens."