Touting new role for Iran in the world, Rouhani targets Israel in remarks

The deal came to pass despite Israel's "best efforts" to prevent it, Iranian president says, criticizing the Jewish state's leadership of "propaganda."

By MICHAEL WILNER
Updated: JULY 14, 2015 17:24
Rouhani: It was the resistance that brought the other side to the negotiating table
VIENNA -- The leaders of France, the United States and the European Union all hailed an historic nuclear agreement with Iran announced on Tuesday as an opening to cooperate with Tehran on a host of other matters concerning the Middle East and the West.
But in order to harness that moment, world powers must reject Israel's efforts to thwart Iran's reintegration into the international community, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in an address televised live.
Rouhani hailed the deal as a "win-win" opportunity for all parties involved in the talks. Britain, France, Russia, China, Germany, the US and Iran agreed on Tuesday on a plan of action to cap Tehran's nuclear work in exchange for sanctions relief.
What does the Iran nuclear deal mean for Israel?
The deal came to pass despite Israel's "best efforts" to prevent it, Rouhani said, criticizing the Jewish state's leadership of "propaganda."
France's President Francoise Hollande suggested on Tuesday that the deal may provide an opportunity to coordinate with Iran toward a peaceful end to the Syrian war, which has claimed the lives of over 210,000 people. Iran supports the government of Bashar Assad, which has remained in power throughout a brutal civil war that began as peaceful protests against his rule.
"Now that Iran has a greater financial capacity, we need to be extremely vigilant on what Iran will be," Hollande said.  "Iran must show that it is ready to help us end the conflict."
But in a congratulatory message to Tehran, Assad said he was now confident "that the Islamic Republic of Iran will support, with greater drive, just causes of nations and work for peace and stability in the region and the world."
Obama: Iran deal cuts off all pathways to nuclear weapons
At the White House, US President Barack Obama hailed the deal as a chance to change the long-wrought relationship between Iran and the United States.
"Our differences are real and the difficult history between our nations cannot be ignored," Obama said. "But it is possible to change. The path of violence and rigid ideology, a foreign policy based on threats to attack your neighbors or eradicate Israel, that's a dead end."
"A different path," he continued, "one of tolerance and peaceful resolution of conflict, leads to more integration into the global economy, more engagement with the international community and the ability of the Iranian people to prosper and thrive. This deal offers an opportunity to move in a new direction. We should seize it."


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