Iran's religious leader threatens to "shred" nuclear deal if US quits it

Iran's religious leader Ali Khamenei says he won't waste time on answering "rants and whoppers of the brute US president" while vowing Tehran would stick to the nuclear deal until US pulls out.

Iran's religious leader Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with students in Tehran on October 18, 2017.
AFP

Iran's religious leader Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with students in Tehran on October 18, 2017.

Iranian religious leader Ali Khamenei on Wednesday said Tehran would stick to its 2015 nuclear accord with world powers as long as the other signatories respected it, but would "shred" the deal if Washington pulled out, state TV reported.

Khamenei spoke five days after US President Donald Trump adopted a harsh new approach to Iran by refusing to certify its compliance with the deal, reached under Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, and saying he might ultimately terminate it.

"I don't want to waste my time on answering the rants and whoppers of the brute [US] president," Khamenei said in a speech to students in Tehran.

"Trump's stupidity should not distract us from America's deceitfulness ... If the US tears up the deal, we will shred it."

It was his first response to Trump's bellicose speech last Friday in which he called for tougher sanctions to curb Iran's "destabilising activities" in the Middle East. 

Trump's move has put Washington at odds with other parties to the accord – Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and the European Union – who say Washington cannot unilaterally cancel a multilateral accord enshrined by a UN resolution.

Under the deal, Iran agreed to curb its disputed uranium enrichment programme in return for relief from international sanctions that crippled its economy, and UN nuclear inspectors have repeatedly certified Tehran's compliance with the terms.

Trump "displays stupidity"

"The US president displays stupidity, but this should not cause us to ignore America's mischief," Khamenei said. 

Khamenei welcomed Europe's strong support for preserving the nuclear agreement but also urged it not to follow the same line as Washington.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the Iran nuclear programme, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.

In a phone call, held on the initiative of the Israeli side, the two leaders also discussed the situation in Syria and the referendum in Iraq's Kurdistan, the Kremlin said in a statement.

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