Rouhani: The JCPOA will either remain with its features or will be destroyed, no renegotiation

The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, stated in a press conference in New York on Wednesday, September 29, that the nuclear agreement between Tehran and six world powers, known as the JCPOA, is an international agreement and is not subject to renegotiation. In response to a question about Iran's approach to renegotiating the JCPOA, Rouhani said, "The issue of the JCPOA is over, and there is no going back to renegotiation." The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed in July 2015 between Iran and six world powers, including the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Under this agreement, Iran suspended parts of its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting or suspension of nuclear sanctions against Tehran. Rouhani further stated that more than two years were spent negotiating "word by word" on this agreement. He emphasized that this agreement is not something that anyone can tamper with, describing it as a structure that would collapse if even one brick is removed. Therefore, he insisted that American officials must completely erase this issue from their minds. Rouhani stated, "The JCPOA will either remain with all its features or it will be destroyed; the JCPOA is not negotiable, it cannot be amended, and no appendices will be added to it." He also noted that the European Union's approach will be very important if the U.S. withdraws from the nuclear agreement. Rouhani emphasized that if the U.S. withdraws from its commitments under any circumstances, it means that Iran's options will be open. However, he reiterated that Iran will not seek to produce nuclear weapons, stating, "The options we are talking about do not include going towards nuclear weapons; there are no options on our table to move towards nuclear weapons." Rouhani also mentioned that the actions of the Europeans in the future will significantly influence the decisions Iran must make. The U.S. President has ordered a review of U.S. policies towards Iran and expressed doubt about Washington's commitment to the agreement. Donald Trump, in his first speech at the United Nations General Assembly, referred to the Iran nuclear deal as "a bad deal" and emphasized that the U.S. would never remain in a one-sided agreement that offers no benefit to the country. The French Foreign Minister recently stated that discussions should take place to strengthen the Iran nuclear agreement after its expiration in 2025. Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, has also recently spoken about adding amendments to the JCPOA to strengthen it, which Rouhani's statements on Wednesday indicate Iran's rejection of this proposal.