Rouhani: We Have Plans for All of Trump's Actions

Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, warned the United States about its exit from the JCPOA, stating that Iran has plans for all actions taken by the U.S. President. During a visit to Khorasan Razavi province on Sunday, April 16, he defended the JCPOA, saying, "Despite the fact that the Americans did not fulfill their commitments at all stages, we have adhered to the commitments we made to the world during this time." Donald Trump, the U.S. President, who has been a major critic of the JCPOA since before taking office, has set a deadline for revising the nuclear agreement with Iran, with a decision expected by April 22. Trump is demanding permanent restrictions on Iran's nuclear program, limitations on ballistic missile programs, expanded inspections by the IAEA at all Iranian facilities, and changes to the regional policies of the Islamic Republic. However, Rouhani, who had previously rejected any renegotiation of the JCPOA, stated on Sunday: "This gentleman who has been speaking for 14 months, namely Trump, constantly says that the JCPOA is in favor of Iran and against the U.S. He claims that Iran has deceived us. His statements are illogical; we have not deceived anyone. We negotiated with countries on a subject, and the United Nations confirmed it." Rouhani added, "If the Americans think today that we have deceived them, that is an unjust thought," and warned: "If they make the same mistake again and continue down the path they have taken and exit the JCPOA, they will soon face historical regret." He noted that "for several months now" he has given necessary instructions to the executive sectors of the country regarding possible scenarios related to the JCPOA, and in recent days, necessary instructions have also been communicated to the officials of the Atomic Energy Organization. The Iranian President emphasized that "we have plans and programs in place to resist any decision made by Trump." However, as America's European allies, while emphasizing the preservation of the JCPOA, have stated that they share concerns with the U.S. regarding Iran's missile program and regional presence and have called for negotiations with Iran on this matter, Rouhani indicated that the Americans might exit the JCPOA, or "damage it," or that the paths of Europe and the U.S. might "diverge." He also stressed that Iran will not negotiate with anyone regarding its "defensive power." In another part of his speech on Sunday in Sabzevar, Rouhani made a statement contradicting his government's spokesman, declaring that any decision made by the U.S. government regarding the JCPOA "will not change our lives." Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, the government spokesman, had said on Wednesday: "By April 22, it is highly likely that the U.S. will exit the JCPOA, and we should expect the situation in the country to change." However, Rouhani referred to his government's decisions regarding currency and said that "the new plan implemented to organize the currency market was to make the Americans understand that no matter what conspiracy they want to execute, the people of Iran should be assured." Following a sharp rise in currency prices in the early weeks of the new year, the Iranian government has taken steps to prevent the buying and selling of currency in the free market by setting a single exchange rate and announced that it will provide the necessary currency for importers and producers at a rate of 4,200. Nonetheless, despite police action against the currency market, the dollar rate reportedly reached the threshold of 7,000 tomans on Sunday, and the price of a full Bahar Azadi coin increased to 2,074,000 tomans. Regarding Iran's reaction to the U.S. exit from the JCPOA, Hamid Baidi-Nejad, a member of the nuclear negotiation team and Iran's ambassador to London, stated last week in an interview with Christiane Amanpour from CNN that if the U.S. exits the JCPOA, one of Iran's options would be to refer to the "dispute resolution mechanism" of the JCPOA, and another option would be "to exit" the JCPOA. Earlier, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, also stated in an interview with the Associated Press that if the U.S. exits the JCPOA, a group in Iran would demand Iran's exit from the NPT. Ali Akbar Velayati, the international affairs advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, stated on Thursday that if the U.S. exits the JCPOA, Iran will not remain in this agreement either. Velayati, referring to the diplomatic efforts of European leaders to persuade the U.S. to maintain the JCPOA, said: "Even if countries aligned with the U.S., especially Europeans, want to revise the JCPOA with the Americans to keep it, one of our options will certainly be to withdraw from the JCPOA." The leaders of Britain, France, and Germany, three European powers, have recently welcomed further discussions to make changes to the JCPOA while emphasizing the preservation of the agreement during meetings with U.S. officials.