Top Iranian official: Nuke deal with Obama was a big mistake

Iran’s top national security official told NBC news that the Islamic Republic made a grave error signing the international nuclear deal, which almost immediately left his nation flush with hundreds of billions of dollars.

By World Israel News Staff

According to top Iranian official Ali Shamkhani, the Iranian people deeply regret the 2015 nuclear pact with Western nations, known formally as the JCPOA – Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Shamkhani told NBC News’ Lester Holt, reporting from Tehran, that he personally sees the agreement as a mistake, which he claimed “follow[s] the viewpoints of [his] nation, the people of Iran.”

While the JCPOA was designed to prevent Iran, designated by the U.S. as the world’s top state sponsor of terror, from developing nuclear weapons, regional rivals such as Israel presented evidence that Iran’s covert nuclear program had never been completely shelved.

Iran also continued to test ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, in addition to funding, arming, and training terror groups throughout the region, such as Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen.

In addition to threatening their host nations and neighbors militarily, these Islamic extremist groups brutalize local populations, torturing and killing those who dissent.

Iranian leaders have publicly slammed the deal, maintaining that they both adhere to its terms, while regularly declaring they have the capability to ramp up uranium enrichment beyond levels set by the agreement when they see fit.

Shamkhani is Iran’s top national security official, serving as military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

The former naval commander struck a defiant tone in his interview with Holt, accusing the U.S. and its allies of stoking tensions in the region, and maintaining that Iran would not be pressured into renegotiating a nuclear agreement with the West.

Shamkhani denied that his nation is developing nuclear weapons, which he referred to as “forbidden under Islam,” He contradicted the well-documented history of Iranian leaders calling to wipe Israel off the map, claiming that the Islamic Republic has no “military wish” to destroy the Jewish state.

According to Shamkhani, “the Palestinian people [will] decide Israel’s fate,” NBC reported.

“I believe that the one that is seeking the destruction of Israel is the country that does not see the realities on the ground,” Shamkhani said, implicitly referring to the Trump administration and senior adviser Jared Kushner.

During the interview, Shamkhani also threatened the U.S. with “proxy war” via its associated terror armies Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, claiming the U.S. and its regional allies would find themselves in “a terrible situation” if armed conflict broke out.

Ali ShamkhaniIran nuclear dealJCPOAObama