TEHRAN – Abdolreza Faraji-Rad, Iran’s former ambassador to Norway, says as U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking re-election, he will use any leverage at his disposal to try to force Iran into entering negotiations.

Trump does not think about the United States’ national interests and is more concerned with re-election, Faraji-Rad said, ISNA reported on Saturday.

He also said the U.S. president cannot return to the nuclear agreement, also referred to as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), because it would mean a political suicide for him.

Therefore, the former envoy continued, he should push for the path he endorsed before getting elected as president, which was withdrawing from the JCPOA.

Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, despite strong protests from the other parties to the deal. Then his administration imposed sanctions on Tehran in a clear violation of UNSC resolution 2231, also pushing other countries to violate the same resolution by cutting economic ties with Iran.

Under the JCPOA, Iran had agreed to limit parts of its peaceful nuclear program in exchange for the removal of all nuclear-related sanctions.

MH/PA