The United States will suffer the most from its decision to walk out from the nuclear deal with Tehran, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to the Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told reporters on Saturday.
Velayati added that by deciding to exit from the historic accord, the United States had "disrespected international regulations and other members of the P5+1 group," and can no longer be trusted.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran fully protects its independence and will by no means bow to [Washington’s] bullying and we have proved this over the past 40 years," he said.
Velayati also warned European countries against kowtowing to Washington’s policy on the nuclear deal which he said would harm Europe's reputation rather than the interests of the Islamic Republic.
During their telephone conversation on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated their commitment to preserving the landmark nuclear deal with Iran.
President Putin also spoke with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier in the day, with the two leaders saying that Trump was “wrong” to pull out of the accord.
The EU foreign affairs commissioner Federica Mogherini, as well as France, Britain, China and the other members of P5+1 have likewise voiced their concern about the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear accord and expressed their commitment to the deal.
The Iran nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA,) signed by Tehran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the US, France, Britain, Russia and China – plus Germany on July 14, 2015, imposes strict restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in return for the loosening of economic sanctions.
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President Donald Trump had repeatedly threatened to pull out of the JCPOA unless Congress and America's European allies "fix" it with a follow-up accord.
Iran has always denied it sought a nuclear weapon and accuses Israel of stirring up world suspicions against it.
