Amid tensions caused by North Korea’s latest nuclear test, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated that his country is unequivocally opposed to weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons.
In an interview with Christiane Amanpour on Monday, President Rouhani discussed the possibilities that US President Donald Trump could come through on a campaign promise to shred the nuclear agreement negotiated under the Obama administration.
Our position has been very clear and remains clear vis-a-vis nuclear weapons. We are against any type of weapons of mass destruction as well as nuclear weapons, and we believe that they must be destroyed around the world.”
He noted that an arms race was unacceptable for Iran, in any region.
Rouhani stressed,
The position and the actions of the United States as well as other nations against North Korea have not been very positive, and I don’t think there is a military solution to this. Only diplomacy is the tool that will resolve this problem permanently.”
On September 3, North Korea announced that it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb that could be loaded into an intercontinental ballistic missile, which became Pyongyang’s sixth nuclear test.
In light of these developments from North Korea, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted its toughest resolution against North Korea that restricted oil exports to Pyongyang, banning exports of textiles to the country, as well as restricting the country’s access to gasoline. However, North Korea has not halted its missile and nuclear program, conducting another missile test last Friday.
In that same interview with CNN, Rouhani warned that there would be a ‘high cost’ if the US exited the nuclear deal with Iran.
Top photo | Iranian President Hassan Rouhani smiles during his meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the presidency office in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017. According to IRNA official news agency, 100 foreign delegations including seven presidents and 18 parliament speakers are set to attend Rouhani’s inauguration of his second term as president, a record in the history of Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. (AP/Ebrahim Noroozi)
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