Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has questioned the legitimacy of efforts by the US and its European allies to change a nuclear deal with his country.
The US and French leaders announced yesterday that they were working on a “new deal” that would expand and extend the terms of the 2015 accord.
But Mr. Rouhani said they had no “right” to renegotiate a seven-party agreement. He also dismissed US President Donald Trump as a “tradesman” not qualified to comment on global treaties.
Mr. Trump has said the US will reimpose sanctions on Iran suspended under the deal on May 12 unless Congress and European powers fix its “disastrous flaws”.
According to BBC News, US and European officials are reported to have made progress on two of his demands – for Iran to give international inspectors immediate access to all sites they want to see, and for Iran to halt development and testing of ballistic missiles.
More problematic is his call to remove the deal’s time limits, or “sunset clauses”, on Iran’s sensitive nuclear activities, and make it open-ended.
