{"id":15992,"date":"2017-10-11T17:36:48","date_gmt":"2017-10-11T17:36:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/10\/11\/iran-warns-of-tough-response-if-trump-scuttles-nuclear-deal\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:52:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:52:26","slug":"iran-warns-of-tough-response-if-trump-scuttles-nuclear-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2017\/10\/11\/iran-warns-of-tough-response-if-trump-scuttles-nuclear-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran warns of tough response if Trump scuttles nuclear deal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TEHRAN, Iran \u2014 Iran on Wednesday warned of a tough response if President Donald Trump presses ahead with his threats to scuttle the landmark 2015 nuclear deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told lawmakers during a closed session of parliament that Iran \u201cwill never renegotiate\u201d the deal brokered with the U.S. and five other world powers, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The nuclear agreement required Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted Zarif as saying Iran will offer a \u201ctougher response\u201d if the U.S. breaks the agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump is expected to decline this week to certify Iran\u2019s compliance and refer the matter to Congress. He also is expected to target Iran\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard with new sanctions. On Tuesday, the State Department offered $12 million for information leading to the location, arrest or conviction of two senior leaders of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told a Cabinet meeting that Trump\u2019s speech will make clear \u201cwhich is the rebellious government, and which is the side that violates international rules.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the U.S. backs out of the nuclear deal, \u201cit won\u2019t be our failure at all, but a failure for the other side,\u201d Rouhani said, according to state TV. He added that any effort to target the Revolutionary Guard would be a \u201cdouble mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump, who has called the nuclear agreement the \u201cworst deal ever,\u201d must recertify the measure by Oct. 15 because of unilateral conditions set by Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

British Prime Minister Theresa May meanwhile urged the United States to extend the nuclear deal, saying it is \u201cvitally important for regional security.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May\u2019s office said she and Trump spoke late Tuesday and both sides agreed their teams would remain in contact ahead of Trump\u2019s decision on the pact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The British government said Wednesday that Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had called Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to underscore British support for the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson said the agreement \u201cwas the culmination of 13 years of painstaking diplomacy and has increased security, both in the region and in the UK. It is these security implications that we continue to encourage the U.S. to consider.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Foreign Office said Johnson also spoke to Zarif and will meet Ali Akhbar Salehi, Iran\u2019s vice president and head of its nuclear agency, in London on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China, France, Russia, Germany, Britain and the European Union all ratified the deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, Salehi warned Washington against undermining the 2015 deal, saying international nonproliferation efforts as well as Washington\u2019s international standing would suffer as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at an international conference on enhancing nuclear safety in Rome, Salehi said that Washington\u2019s recent \u201cdelusionary negative postures do not augur well\u201d for keeping the deal intact.<\/p>\n\n\n\t