TEHRAN – Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has warned if the new U.S. administration dismantles the nuclear deal, everything will go back to square one, IRNA reported.

Larijani made the remarks in an interview with Al Mayadeen on Sunday.

“Tehran can restore its nuclear program if Washington is serious in dismantling the nuclear agreement,” noted Larijani.

The election of Donald Trump to the office of the U.S. president has raised doubts about the fate of the nuclear deal as he has, on numerous occasions, attacked the international agreement, calling it “the worst deal ever”.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Larijani hailed Tehran-Moscow ties, declaring that no serious disagreement exists between the two countries.

“We share the same goals in Syria, especially in fighting the terrorists there,” he said. “We also agree on the future of Syria.”

The parliament speaker also said Iran welcomes dialogue with the Persian Gulf Arab states providing the talks be held without preconditions.

“The [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council has invited us to talks and we have no objections in this regard,” Larijani said, adding that Iran is ready to hold direct talks with Saudi Arabia.

He went on to say that Iran will not set forth nor accept preconditions for the talks. 

“I believe that holding negotiations can be a positive move for the region,” he said. “That’s why I would welcome political dialogue between regional countries.”

Last week, President Hassan Rouhani paid visits to Oman and Kuwait to improve relations with Arab states lying on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf. It was Rouhani’s first to Kuwait since taking office in 2013.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has also called on regional countries to work with Iran to address “anxieties” and violence across the region.

“On regional dialogue, I'm modest and I'm focusing on the Persian Gulf. We have enough problems in this region so we want to start a dialogue with countries we call brothers in Islam,” Zarif told delegates at the Munich Security Conference Sunday.

MH/PA