TEHRAN – Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Monday that Donald Trump’s administration will abide by the nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“My assumption is that Mr. Trump and his administration will abide by the JCPOA… We have received this message from the European countries that they will support their companies for cooperation with Iran,” Araqchi told a conference on the Iranian economy.

Araqchi added, “I am optimistic that the JCPOA will continue its path and the new economic atmosphere will be maintained.” 

Araqchi, the deputy foreign minister for legal and international affair who was heavily involved in drawing up the text of the JCPOA in negotiations with great powers, also said that a violation of the nuclear agreement will harm the U.S.

President has repeatedly showed his displeasure with the nuclear deal, claiming it only favors Tehran. However, before his inauguration as president he said it is difficult to abrogate a deal which has been endorsed by the UN Security Council.

“The international consensus against Iran” before the nuclear deal has turned into an “international consensus against Trump in support of the JCPOA, the senior diplomat noted.

The international nuclear agreement is supported by all except the U.S. president, the Zionist regime of Israel and some regional countries, he pointed out.

Elsewhere, Araqchi said what Iran achieved during the nuclear negotiations was the result of the people’s resistance and not the Western countries’ favor.

Iran and the six major powers (the U.S., Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany) finalized the text of the JCPOA in July 2015. It took effect in January 2016.

NA/PA