US will eventually rejoin nuclear deal: Rouhani

By Muhammet Kursun

TEHRAN (AA) - The U.S. will sooner or later rejoin the Iran nuclear deal, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference in New York, where he was attending the UN General Assembly, Rouhani described the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 accord as "a mistake".

He said it would ease the way for dialogue if the U.S. administration "stops bullying, keeps its promises, abides by the laws and respects human rights".

Rouhani underlined that he met with 16 world leaders in New York and all of them supported the nuclear agreement.

He said the U.S. has isolated itself by pulling out from the accord but would return to the deal because “nobody benefits from the current situation".

In May, U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew his country from a landmark nuclear deal signed in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 group of nations -- the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany.

He later reinstated U.S. sanctions on Tehran, which had been lifted under the terms of the agreement in exchange for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear energy program.

The sanctions are expected to impact Iranian oil exports, which provide Tehran with the revenue needed to finance its national budget.