Hassan Rouhani describes accord as a long-lasting victory for Iran amid efforts by the Trump administration to kill it off

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Iran’s president says the United States has failed to undermine a nuclear deal between Tehran and the world’s major powers, and hailed the accord as a “long-lasting victory” for Iran, state television reported.

Donald Trump on Friday delivered an ultimatum to European signatories of the deal to fix the “terrible flaws” of the agreement with Iran, or the US would pull out.

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But in a speech broadcast live on state television, Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani said: “The American administration has failed to undermine the nuclear deal ... Trump, despite his repeated efforts, has failed to undermine the accord ... The deal is a long-lasting victory for Iran.”

On Friday, Trump agreed to waive sanctions against Iran for the last time to give the US and European allies a final chance to amend the pact.

Iran says the nuclear deal is not renegotiable and it will stick to the accord as long as the other signatories respect it but will “shred” the deal if Washington pulls out.

Under the deal, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme, in exchange for lifting of most sanctions.