US cannot be trusted with Iran nuclear deal: Academic

An Iranian official has warned the United States that the Islamic Republic has different alternatives to respond to possible violations of the nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 group dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Iran’s Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said the Iranians’ maneuvering power is enough to act as deterrent to prevent other parties from ignoring their obligations under the accord.

Mohammad Marandi, a professor at the University of Tehran, said on Tuesday that the United States’ attempts to get rid of its obligations under the nuclear agreement proves the fact that Washington is not a trustworthy party to any international commitment.

Marandi noted, “The United States is not a country that can be trusted” in terms of any kind of cooperation or agreement.

Although the US violation of the JCPOA is “hurtful” but “it is enlightening for many people” to find out that the US has never been a trustworthy country, the academic added.  

He also said, “The problem [with the Iranian nuclear program] from the very beginning was the United States and contrary to the Western narratives about Iran trying to build a nuclear weapon, Iran was simply pursuing a peaceful nuclear program and the Americans and their allies were using this as an excuse to hurt the Iranians.”

“Now that the Iranians have signed an agreement and they’ve implemented the agreement ... we still see the United States hasn’t changed its attitude under [President Barack] Obama,” he stated.

If the Americans try to prevent the deal from being implemented; then the Iranians would retaliate, “which would make things difficult for the United States,” he warned.

Marandi went on to say, “If the United States breaches the agreement, the Iranians will feel they not only have the right to do the same but the responsibility to do so, because the United States must come to the understanding that they cannot violate the agreement without paying the price.”

If Iran does not respond to the US’ violation of the JCPOA, the Americans and some other signatories to the accord will be encouraged to disrespect it, he added.

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia – plus Germany signed the JCPOA on July 14, 2015. It went into effect on January 16, and resolved a long-running dispute over the Iranian nuclear program.

The GOP-controlled US House of Representatives on November 15 passed a bill for a 10-year extension of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA). The ISA will expire at the end of 2016 if it is not renewed. The bill must be approved by the Senate before being signed by the US president into law.

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