Trump decision on Iran is 'psychological warfare': Rouhani

By
Reuters
US President Donald Trump's decision on Tuesday to pull out of the nuclear deal is an act of "psychological warfare" against Iran, President Hassan Rouhani said. Photo: AFP file
 

TEHRAN: US President Donald Trump's decision on Tuesday to pull out of the nuclear deal is an act of "psychological warfare" against Iran, President Hassan Rouhani said.

Speaking on state television, Rouhani said he wished to discuss Trump's decision with the European, Russian and Chinese parties to the 2015 deal.

The Iranian president appeared on the state broadcaster just minutes after Trump announced the historic decision to withdraw the United States from the agreement.

Rouhani has stated in recent days that he hopes to salvage the deal as much as possible with the help of the other parties — Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia and the European Union — who have strongly opposed Washington's decision to pull out. 

'Iran deal defective at its core'

President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the US withdrawal from what he called the "defective" multinational nuclear deal with Iran, and said Washington would reinstate sanctions against the Islamic republic.

"The Iran deal is defective at its core," Trump said in a televised address from the White House. "I am announcing today that the United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal."

He called Tehran the world's leading state sponsor of terror, and decried its influence in the Middle East.

Trump decision on Iran is 'psychological warfare': Rouhani

The US president claimed to have proof that Iran had lied about the deal adding that his country had failed to hold Iran's nuclear ambitions.

"Iran nuclear deal doesn't constrain Iran´s destabilizing activities, including support for terrorism," he said. "The deal has inadequate mechanisms to prevent cheating."