‘Trusting West doesn’t work’
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday said that the outgoing government's experience of engaging with world powers including the United States shows that "trusting the West does not work". President Hassan Rouhani's signature diplomatic achievement, a 2015 nuclear deal with major powers, gave Iran some relief from international sanctions in exchange for limits on its nuclear programme. But it was torpedoed in 2018 by then US president Donald Trump, who unilaterally withdrew from the agreement and reimposed punishing sanctions. "Future generations should use this experience. It was made clear during this government that trusting the West does not work," Khamenei told outgoing President Hassan Rouhani and members of his cabinet. "They are the enemy after all," he added. Rouhani is scheduled to hand over power to President-elect Ebrahim Raisi, a ultraconservative, next month. Iran's ultraconservative camp, which deeply distrusts the United States, has repeatedly criticised Rouhani over the 2015 deal.
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