US exit from nuclear deal to complicate conflicts in region
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E-mail Xinhua, October 12, 2017
Iran is prepared to counter the U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to possibly "decertify" the international nuclear deal sealed in July 2015, which would add new dimensions to the conflicts in the Middle East region.
The U.S. move could lead to the potential collapse of the agreement, of which the Iranian officials have cautioned the parties of the repercussion.
The Iranian senior officials have reiterated that Iran is playing by the rules set out in the nuclear accord, which was affirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency, a UN nuclear watchdog, last month.
However, they have warned that they will not remain idle in the face of U.S. aggressive movements.
Trump has long criticized the Iran nuclear pact. In his speech delivered at UN General Assembly last month, Trump called the agreement "an embarrassment" for the United States and indicated that he may not recertify the deal at its mid-October deadline.
The Trump administration is due to inform the congress by Oct. 15 whether Tehran is complying with the deal. If he decides it is not, it could open the way for U.S. lawmakers to reimpose sanctions against Iran.
In a fresh reaction to the harangue by Trump, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday said that the Iranian people, irrespective of their political, religious or ethnic differences, are united against the U.S. "hostile" stances against the Islamic republic and "fear not" of Washington's anti-Tehran measures.
Rouhani noted that the United States would be the loser if Trump decides to drop Iran's international nuclear deal.
If they recommit their earlier mistakes, they will face global predicament, Rouhani said in the weekly cabinet meeting.
"We are not afraid" of the U.S. measures, he said, adding that "the international community will learn who is unreliable and (the) liar."
"If the ill-wishing side, our rival and enemy, leaves the agreement, this is not a defeat for us, but rather a defeat for the opposite side," he stressed, vowing retaliation.
The nuclear deal was reached between Iran and the world six powers of Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany in July 2015. The deal, officially known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, has helped defuse the Iran nuclear crisis and bolstered the international non-proliferation regime.
Other Iranian senior and military officials have also pronounced counter-measures to Washington's continuous hostility towards Iran.
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced earlier that if the United States imposes new sanctions against Iran, it would have repercussions for Washington.
In case the United States imposes fresh sanctions, they will have to relocate the U.S. regional bases out of the reach of Iran's missiles.
IRGC commander Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari cautioned the U.S. government of what he termed as the dire consequences of imposing new sanction against Iran.
Over the past months, Washington has imposed several sanctions against a number of Iranian and the international entities over the latter's ballistic program, alleging that Tehran's missile tests have harmed the spirit of the deal.
Washington accused Iran's missile program, mainly conducted by the IRGC, of threatening the regional and international peace.
Iran denied the allegations, stressing that its missile program is only for deterrent purposes.
Iran has also warned it has "all options on table" if the U.S. designates the IRGC as a terrorist group.
Rouhani on Wednesday warned against the repercussions of a possible move by the United States to designate the IRGC as a terrorist group.
Iranian Islamic guards are popular not only in Iran but also among regional countries, Rouhani said, adding that the IRGC has protected Iraq's capital Baghdad and Syria's Damascus against the terrorist groups.
The IRGC is also popular among the Iraq's Kurds, because it has saved Erbil, and among the Lebanese people because it has saved their honor against the invaders.
According to reports, President Trump is expected to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization in the coming days.
On Sunday, Jafari said if the U.S. administration makes a "stupid decision" to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization, the corps will, in turn, treat the U.S. military around the world, particularly in the Middle East, as the forces of the Islamic State, according to Tasnim news agency.
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