Iran’s Rouhani tells critics: blame ‘oath-breaker’ US

TEHRAN, AFP: Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani slammed his critics on Wednesday, defending the political achievements of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal and calling the US an “oath-breaker”.  

“One should not condemn the government or the great Islamic system instead of America -- this is the greatest damage that can be done,” he said on state TV. 

Hardliners have repeatedly hammered the 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers since the early stages of negotiations, calling it a fool’s errand and a deception.  They contend that Iran has gained nothing from the agreement despite complying with its restrictions on the Islamic republic’s nuclear program, intensifying their criticism after Washington withdrew from the treaty last year. 

Speaking during an annual ceremony of allegiance to the late founder of the Islamic republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Rouhani said: “America has not been an oath-breaker only to us, but also to Europe, China, NAFTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).” President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the deal -- technically called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- last May, re-imposing punishing sanctions on the Islamic Republic. 

Washington also withdrew from the TPP trade agreement in 2016, the Paris Agreement on climate change control the next year and forced Canada and Mexico to renegotiate and sign a new deal in 2018 replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement.