Iran FM: Nuclear deal still triumph of diplomacy
Iran's foreign minister says the 2015 nuclear agreement is still a triumph of diplomacy because other signatories are standing solidly with the Islamic Republic in maintaining the accord.
Mohammad Javad Zarif reportedly made the remarks in Tehran to CBS News, which the broadcaster published on its website on Saturday.
US President Donald Trump said in an insulting speech on Friday that his administration "cannot and will not" certify the agreement even as the UN and other world countries support it.
Trump had already endorsed the agreement twice but on Friday he handed its fate to the US Congress, entrusting the landmark deal’s future to some of its staunchest critics.
After Trump’s speech, the UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany, which are the other parties to the accord, reiterated their continued commitment to it.
Zarif said Trump's move would undermine US credibility internationally.
"Nobody else will trust any US administration to engage in any long-term negotiation because the length of any commitment, the duration of any commitment from now on with any US administration would be the remainder of the term of that president," he said.
Before his speech, Trump called Iran a "terrorist nation" and used "Arabian Gulf" to refer to the waters separating Iran and the regional Arab states, which are historically known as the Persian Gulf.
Iranians responded with anger and mockery to the incendiary remarks which also served to unite the nation across the political spectrum.
Zarif said, "I believe the Trump administration is closing its eyes on the realities of our region."
"We believe it will be important for the United States, for the Trump administration to exercise a reset in its cognitive disorder with regard to our region," he said.
In his first reaction to the speech, the Iranian foreign minister wrote on Twitter, "Everyone knew Trump's friendship was for sale to the highest bidder. We now know that his geography is too," referring to the US alliance with Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia was Trump's first stopping point on his maiden foreign trip as president, where he signed deals worth more than $300 billion, including $110 billion in arms sales.
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