Rouhani 'strongly condemns' US 'unilateral withdrawl' from nuclear deal

President of Iran Hassan Rouhani slammed the United States for its 'irrational withdrawal' from the nuclear accord of 2015 on December 20. During his visit to Japan, Rouhani said to the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo that he 'strongly condemns US', however, he hopes that other countries make efforts to maintain Tehran's nuclear programme. Iranian President's trip came after the deadly protests in his nation last month over petroleum hikes and the economy is also reportedly suffering due to additional tariffs by Washington. Rouhani has also become the first head of Iran to visit Japan for two decades. 

Rouhani said, “I strongly condemn the US for unilaterally and irrationally withdrawing. I hope Japan and other countries will make efforts to maintain this deal”.

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US reimposed sanctions

After withdrawing from the nuclear deal, Washington reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran in 2018. The deal was initially aimed to tackle the nuclear programme of the Islamic Republic, but the Iranian government spokesperson Ali Rabiei reportedly played down the mediation aspect of Rouhani's Japan visit. Rabiei said that the trip has nothing to do with issues such as negotiations with America, however, he further acknowledged that their 'Japanese friends' usually convey messages or initiatives which are welcomed by Iran. Abe had last week also said that he would try to ease the tensions between US and Iran 'as much as possible'. 

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Iran slams US foreign policy

Iran has said the foreign policies of United States are 'delusional' and its Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is a 'loudspeaker for bullying, deceit, and disdain'. A day after the US announced additional tariffs on Tehran, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a statement that Washington 'will not achieve anything this way'. Pompeo had announced US' countermeasures against two Iranian judges on December 19 for 'abusing the rights of activists'.  

Mousavi also said that the US President Donald Trump's administration has shown the American citizens a world which is of 'inefficient, delusional, static and bullying foreign policy'. Pompeo had announced that Washington would restrict the visas of Iranian officials while the White House has already ended the vast majority of new visas for Iranians. In addition to visa restrictions, Washington had also reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran's oil as well as banking sectors.

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(With PTI inputs)