The United States and its European allies should ensure the 2015 nuclear deal is a success before demanding to negotiate on other issues such as Tehran’s regional activities or ballistic missile program, Iran’s deputy foreign minister said Thursday.

“Now they ask Iran to enter discussions on other issues. Our answer is clear: make the [deal] a successful experience and then we discuss other issues,” Abbas Araqchi told a conference.

He said the new US administration’s policy on Iran was “destructive” and violated the terms of the accord with world powers.

Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of a Euromoney conference in Paris, Araqchi said there was no link between its influence in the Middle East region and the nuclear accord with major powers.

Araqchi dismissed Western assertions that Iran’s regional activities are destabilizing. He accused the United States, ‘Israel’ and Saudi Arabia of fomenting tensions in the Middle East.

“We have always fought against terrorism. Iran has always played a key role in bringing stability and peace to the region … There is no link between the [nuclear] deal and our role in the region,” Araqchi, also a senior negotiator in the Iran nuclear talks, told Reuters.

Source: Reuters