TEHRAN – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that Iran will definitely give “appropriate” response to any breach of the nuclear deal known, as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

However, he said, Iran will never be the first to violate the international agreement.

Speaking at a meeting with Iranian residents in New York late on Sunday local time, Rouhani said, “Pulling out of the JCPOA means a clear violation of a government’s political commitment and this is not a source of pride for anyone.” 

He added, “Iranians have always been committed to their promises during history and Iran will remain committed to its promises as long as the others do so.”

The president went on to say that the JCPOA “will remain alive in the political history of the world whether the current U.S. administration be happy or worried” because it is a multilateral agreement being supported by the UN Security Council.

Rouhani also said that the nuclear agreement proved to the world that “complicated international issues” can be settled through negotiation.

Elsewhere, he said that Iran can defend its people’s rights through “acceptable logic”.

Iran, the European Union, Germany and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council including the U.S. signed the nuclear deal on July 14, 2015.

On July 20, 2015, the UN Security Council turned the JCPOA into international law by endorsing a resolution, setting the stage for the lifting of the Security Council sanctions against Iran.

The nuclear agreement went into effect in January 2016.

In an indirect reference to the United States on Sunday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, threatened that Iran will respond if any “wrong move” is taken against the JCPOA.

NA/PA