Iran's President Hasan Rouhani blamed Saudi Arabia, Israeli PM Netanyahu, as well as American hardliners for Donald Trump's decision to leave the nuclear deal, saying their undermining measures proved that the JCPOA had been a hard pill to swallow for the Israeli regime and reactionary countries in the region, Mehr News reports.
Talking about Iran's decision to reduce commitments to the JCPOA, Rouhani said Iran waited one year after the US' withdrawal because it could still export its oil as much as it needed; "but after the US began on a full-fledged approach to sanction our oil, it led to a new situation," said Rouhani.
"We are in contact with the European side and other countries in the world, but their proposals have not been satisfactory for us. We will continue the process of political talks, but if we don't reach a desirable conclusion by the end of the second 60-day deadline, we will definitely begin the third stage," in Iran's cuts to its JCPOA-related commitments, the president added.
Stressing that the security in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz is of utmost importance to Iran, President Rouhani said "we will not allow anyone to cause disturbances in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, we are not seeking tension or military confrontations, and everything we have done so far was proportionate to the violations of the other side."
"We are not seeking to continue tension with certain European countries. If they are committed to the framework of international rules and stop their wrongdoings such as the one they committed in Gibraltar [by seizing the Iranian oil tanker], they will receive an appropriate response from Iran," Rouhani promised.
