A powerful member of Iran’s Guardian Council told the AP that the Islamic Republic should completely abandon the crumbling 2015 nuclear deal.
Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei said Iran’s withdrawal from the deal was “very natural, logical and based on the agreement’s framework,” the AP reported on Thursday.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has shown a lot of patience so far, and it remained in the framework of its commitments. In recent months, it has taken some actions in direction of vindication of its rights,” Kadkhodaei said according to the report.
“I think those who disrupted the game should be punished since they damaged other parties’ interests,” said Kadkhodaei in an apparent reference to the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the deal in May 2018, citing its failure to address Tehran’s ballistic-missile program and support for terrorism in the region.
In recent months, Iran has taken increasing steps away from its commitments under the deal.
In response to a European Union warning on Monday that further violations could lead to sanctions, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday that it was the Europeans who had failed to keep up their end of the deal.
