Iranian rips Trump talk as 'absurd'

NEW YORK -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday blasted President Donald Trump's speech before the United Nations as "ignorant, absurd and hateful" and vowed that Iran will not be the first to walk away from the nuclear deal.

Trump, meanwhile, said he has made a decision on whether to recertify Iran's compliance with the deal, though he declined to reveal what that decision is.

Rouhani never mentioned Trump by name during his 23-minute address at the U.N. General Assembly. Instead, he referred to Trump obliquely, at one point saying it would be a pity if the nuclear deal were undone by "rogue newcomers to the world of politics."

Rouhani denied that Iran has ever sought to obtain nuclear weapons. And he said the ballistic missiles his country has been testing would be used only for defensive purposes.

"Iran does not seek to restore its ancient empire, impose its official religion on others or export its revolution through the force of arms," he said.

Rouhani's remarks were a response to Trump's speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, when he called Iran a "murderous regime" and put it in the same category as rogue nations such as North Korea.

Taking aim more specifically at Trump's speech, Rouhani said that "the ignorant, absurd and hateful rhetoric filled with ridiculously baseless allegations that was uttered before this august body yesterday was ... unfit to be heard at the United Nations, which was established to promote peace and respect."

Rouhani presented Iran as a nation pursuing a peaceful world and held up the nuclear deal as proof. Characterizing it as an agreement negotiated with six world powers, not just the United States, and endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, Rouhani said that "it belongs to the international community in its entirety and not only to one or two countries."

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"I declare before you that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not be the first country to violate the agreement," he said. "But it will respond decisively and resolutely to its violation by any party."

Rouhani also suggested that if the U.S. abrogates the terms of the deal, Iran could resume larger-scale uranium-enrichment activities -- a move that would rekindle international fears that Tehran could accelerate the development of nuclear weapons.

"If anyone exits the agreement and breaks their commitment, it means our hand is completely open to take any action that we see as beneficial to our country," Rouhani said at a news conference after his address to the General Assembly.

Trump on Tuesday called the agreement with Iran an embarrassment and "one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the U.S. has ever entered into."

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Under U.S. law, Trump must decide by Oct. 15 whether to recertify Iran's compliance with the agreement. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which has inspectors in Iran to monitor its nuclear facilities, has said eight times that the Iranians are complying. If Trump does not recertify compliance, then Congress will have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose U.S. sanctions that were lifted when the deal took effect. That would in effect be a withdrawal from the accord.

Trump, pressed by reporters Wednesday at a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, declined to reveal any details about his decision. "I'll let you know. I'll let you know," he said.

Trump has certified Iran's compliance twice but has made clear that he is reluctant to certify it for a third time, citing destabilizing activities by Iran that are not directly covered by the agreement, including its ballistic missile program and support for terrorist groups in the Middle East.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that Trump had not informed him or others in the administration about his decision and had refused to share it with British Prime Minister Theresa May when she asked him about it during a meeting Wednesday.

Tillerson said he was surprised when Trump announced he had reached a decision.

Tillerson spoke to reporters after a meeting of the parties to the nuclear deal, including Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The meeting marked the highest-level U.S.-Iranian encounter since Trump became president.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who hosted the meeting, said all parties to the accord -- including Tillerson -- agreed it "is working and is delivering for its purpose."

Tillerson did not dispute Mogherini's characterization but said that while Iran might be meeting its obligations to the letter of the deal, it is violating its spirit.

"Perhaps the technical aspects have [been met], but in the broader context the aspiration has not," Tillerson said. He later conceded that reports from the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, "continue to confirm that Iran is in technical compliance with the agreement."

However, he said the Trump administration was determined to address the flaws in the deal, the most serious of which are so-called sunset provisions that allow Iran to resume some aspects of its nuclear program after certain periods of time. Those provisions relate to enriching uranium to levels near those needed to produce the fuel for a nuclear weapon, as well as other activities that limit Iran's atomic capabilities at various sites.

"One can almost set the countdown clock to Iran resuming its nuclear activities," Tillerson said. He added that the world was made less safe by the Iran agreement as it stands, particularly at a time when the U.S. and its allies are being threatened directly by a nuclear-armed North Korea.

The other five countries that negotiated the agreement have resisted any effort by Trump to tear it up.

French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking to reporters Wednesday outside the U.N. Security Council chambers, declined to say whether Trump had shared with him his decision on the Iran deal. But he said France favored keeping it "because it's a good one."

Macron said the agreement should be amended to cover ballistic missiles and extended to last beyond 2025. He also said he favored "an open discussion with Iran about the current situation in the region." But, he added, "I think it would be a mistake just to abandon the nuclear agreement without that."

Rouhani said Wednesday that the time frame and deadlines contained in the deal were all carefully worked out and will not be revisited.

Information for this article was contributed by Carol Morello, Anne Gearan and Abby Phillip of The Washington Post; by Matthew Lee of The Associated Press; and by Peter Baker and Somini Sengupta of The New York Times.

A Section on 09/21/2017

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