Iran threatens to quit nuclear deal 'within hours' over new sanctions

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
(Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

Iran threatened Tuesday to pull out of the Obama-brokered nuclear deal "within hours" over the United States' decision to impose new sanctions on the country, Reuters and Al Jazeera report. "Those who try to return to the language of threats and sanctions are prisoners of their past delusions," said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a televised address. "If [the United States wants] to go back to that experience, definitely in a short time, not weeks or months, but in the scale of hours and days, we will return to our previous situation very much more stronger."

Iran agreed in the 2015 deal with the U.S., Russia, China, and three European powers to curb its nuclear program in order to be protected against new sanctions. Under Trump, the U.S. Treasury has since imposed sanctions on six Iranian firms over Iran's development of a ballistic missile program, which Iran claims is exempt from the treaty, in addition to Congress' newly proposed sanctions on Iran, Russia, and North Korea, signed into law by Trump in August.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.