During talks with Sri Lanka, Iran slams Trump on nuclear deal

Following talks with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena today, Iranian President Hassan Rowhani slammed?US President Donald Trump over the decision by the US to withdraw from a 2015 nuclear deal.

Rowhani said on Sunday that if its interests were protected, Tehran would remain committed to its 2015 nuclear deal, the AFP news agency reported.

?If the remaining five countries continue to abide by the agreement, Iran will remain in the deal despite the will of America,? he said during a meeting with Sri Lanka?s President.

Meanwhile, Iran?s Foreign Minister on Sunday said he was hopeful of forging a ?clear future design? for the nuclear deal facing collapse after Washington?s withdrawal, at the start of a diplomatic tour aimed at rescuing the agreement.

?We hope that with this visit to China and other countries we will be able to construct a clear future design for the comprehensive agreement,? Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters after talks in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

Zarif will later fly to Moscow and Brussels to consult the remaining signatories to the 2015 agreement denounced by US President Donald Trump.

Washington?s decision to withdraw from the deal and reimpose sanctions angered its European allies as well as China and Russia.

China was one of the six powers ? with the United States, Russia, France, the UK and Germany ? that signed the historic pact, which saw sanctions lifted in return for the commitment by Tehran not to acquire nuclear weapons.? (Colombo Gazette)