Iran\'s Rouhani: P5+1 deal no threat to the region

The deal reached between Iran and the P5+1 group over the country's nuclear activity is no threat of any kind to the countries in the region, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised interview here Tuesday night. The president said the Geneva deal would not compromise interests of neighboring states and Iran does not and would never seek production of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), including nuclear weapons. Stressing the deal was a victory for the Iranian nation, he added that the only people and nation not pleased with the signing of the agreement was Israel, which he described as an illegal occupation body established on a basis of injustice and aggression. Reiterating that Iran would never forego its inalienable right to nuclear technology, the president "assured the Iranian nation that Iran's nuclear redlines have been observed by the Iranian negotiating team in the recent Geneva talks," according to IRNA news agency. "Uranium enrichment is our clear right and it is also our redline," he said. Reiterating "We broke the structure of sanctions," the president also chimed that, "The centrifuges are functioning now and the people's economic conditions will also get better." Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - the US, Britain, Russia, France, and China - plus Germany sealed an interim hard-won deal in Geneva on Sunday. The main points of the deal include that Iran is to limit its uranium enrichment to 5 percent within the next six months, and also abandon development of nuclear fuel production at Natanz, Fordow, and Arak facilities. The deal also states a gradual easing of sanctions and that no additional sanctions be imposed on the nation, and also indicates that some USD 400 million of Iranian funds abroad are to be freed. The embargo on purchase of gold and precious metals is also to be lifted as well as embargos on the auto industry, petrochemicals, and repair of civilian Iranian aircraft abroad.