Iran’s Rouhani in Vienna to Save Nuclear Deal amid Diplomat’s Bomb Plot Arrest

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) and Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign secretary, a
Michael Gruber/Getty Images
Adelle Nazarian

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was in Vienna on Wednesday to seek to secure what is left of the Iran nuclear deal.

While in Europe, media reports continued to cloud his arrival due to the arrest of a Tehran diplomat for allegedly helping to plan a bomb attack on an exiled Iranian opposition group in Paris, France.

Rouhani’s arrival in Vienna kicked off the second leg of his European tour to preserve the 2015 nuclear accords brokered under the Obama administration and scrapped by President Donald Trump in May.

“Insofar as it is possible for Iran, we shall remain party to the accord, we shall not quit the JCPOA (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) on condition that we can also benefit from it,” Rouhani said, according to the AFP. “If the other signatories, apart from the United States, can guarantee Iran’s interests then Iran will stay in the JCPOA.”

Iran has turned to Europe to secure the nuclear deal. The country’s leadership has also looked to China to save them.

Rouhani’s visit to Vienna follows reports of the arrest of an unnamed Iranian diplomat working in Tehran’s mission to Austria and three other Iranians for planning to bomb the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)’s annual “Free Iran” rally, where several high-profile American politicians, including Rudy Giuliani, spoke.

Police also detained a Belgian married couple of Iranian heritage for an “attempt at terrorist murder and preparing a terrorist crime” against the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK). A fourth suspect was arrested in France.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismissed the foiled terrorist attack as a “false flag ploy” designed as a distraction:

“How convenient: Just as we embark on a presidential visit to Europe, an alleged Iranian operation and its ‘plotters’ arrested,” Zarif tweeted.

Zarif hailed Rouhani’s talks with Vienna officials, calling them “fruitful.”

“Back in Vienna together with President Rouhani, celebrating 160 years of diplomatic relations,” Zarif tweeted. “Fruitful discussions with Austrian hosts – holding EU presidency – as well as business community,” he added:

He also called for both countries to “forge practical solutions. Expecting EU/E3+2 counterparts to make verifiable & actionable commitments rather than lofty & obscure promises. Make no mistake: Sanctions & JCPOA compliance are mutually exclusive”:

Adelle Nazarian is a politics and national security reporter for Breitbart News. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

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