TEHRAN – President Hassan Rouhani of Iran warned on Tuesday that Washington will pay a heavy cost for trying to isolate Iran.

“The U.S. government’s objective is the isolation of the Iranian nation which will prove too costly” or the White House, Rouhani said in a meeting with Iranians living in Austria. 

Rouhani was on a tour of Switzerland and Austria. The president, who is accompanied by a business and political delegation, arrived in Vienna on Tuesday afternoon after talks with Swiss officials. During his stay in Switzerland three cooperation documents in the areas of transport, research and health were signed between the two countries. 

Analysts say Rouhani’s visit to Europe sent this message to Washington that the United States’ exit from the international 2015 nuclear deal and its efforts to isolate Tehran will not succeed.
 
Rouhani said, “It is the first time that the U.S. has hatched a plot against the Iranian people and has no supporter except for one or two countries.” 

Only extremists in Israel and despotic ruling families in Saudi Arabia and the UAE have backed Donald Trump’s exit from the nuclear agreement.
 
On Monday, Rouhani’s right-hand man Es’haq Jahangiri said a few regional countries are unhappy with the economic rise of Iran and they have been resorting to different ploys to kill the nuclear agreement. Jahangiri was openly referring to Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

‘U.S. moves will make Iranians more determined’

In his talks with Iranian expatriates, Rouhani also said the pressure against Iran will make the people more united and “resistant” more than ever before, he noted.

“The U.S. big mistake will help strengthen the Iranian people’s national unity and we will resolve the problems with less costs,” the president remarked.

Rouhani said he was reelected president in the summer of 2017 his government has been trying to “defeat” the Iranophobia project by the U.S. administration and his client states in the region. He added his government has been seeking to introduce Iran as a pioneer in promoting “science, culture, literature, business and industry”.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Rouhani said Iran will continue the “path of progress” no matter the nuclear deal will survive or not.

Commenting on the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal, he said the Trump administration’s move was “illegal” and against international law and that it is behaving like a “bully”.

However, he said, Iran is determined to foil the U.S. plots, because Washington’s position is “illogical”, “illegal” and runs contrary to international commitments and the UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

He noted that Iran has fulfilled its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – the official name for the nuclear agreement - which has been confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency for 11 times.

The nuclear deal, struck in July 2015 between Iran, the European Union, Germany and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. The agreement was endorsed by the UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

The deal went into force in January 2016.

NA/PA