VIENNA: Iran's nuclear chief said on Wednesday his “gut feeling” was that Donald Trump would not rip up last year's landmark atomic accord between major powers and the Islamic Republic if the US Republican presidential hopeful was elected.

“Whoever becomes US president will have to adapt to the reality on the ground,” Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted by the Austria Press Agency as saying in a speech in Vienna.

“Things could go up and down a bit, and some things could get delayed but nothing will be seriously in danger,” APA, in German, quoted Salehi as saying.

He said his “gut feeling” was that no one really wanted to go back on the July 2015 pact that ended a long-running standoff that had poisoned Iran's external relations.

Under the agreement, Iran dramatically scaled back its nuclear activities in order to put atomic weapons out of Tehran's reach, an aim Tehran always denied having.

In return, the UN and Western countries lifted painful sanctions that had throttled Iran's all-important oil exports.

Trump, running against Hillary Clinton to be elected US president on November 8, said on March 21 that his “number one priority” in foreign policy would be to dismantle the “disastrous” deal.

Iran says needs no mediator for talks with Saudi

Iran and Saudi Arabia do not need a mediator for talks to reach an agreement that would lift oil prices, the Iranian oil minister said on Wednesday before an informal meeting of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Algeria.

Asked about the Iraqi oil minister's comments that Baghdad was mediating between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Bijan Zanganeh was quoted by Iran's SHANA news agency as saying: “I don't confirm (those comments) ... In the oil market, Iran and Saudi Arabia do not need a mediator. We can talk and we have talked.”

Opinion

Editorial

Under siege
Updated 03 May, 2024

Under siege

Whether through direct censorship, withholding advertising, harassment or violence, the press in Pakistan navigates a hazardous terrain.
Meddlesome ways
03 May, 2024

Meddlesome ways

AFTER this week’s proceedings in the so-called ‘meddling case’, it appears that the majority of judges...
Mass transit mess
03 May, 2024

Mass transit mess

THAT Karachi — one of the world’s largest megacities — does not have a mass transit system worth the name is ...
Punishing evaders
02 May, 2024

Punishing evaders

THE FBR’s decision to block mobile phone connections of more than half a million individuals who did not file...
Engaging Riyadh
Updated 02 May, 2024

Engaging Riyadh

It must be stressed that to pull in maximum foreign investment, a climate of domestic political stability is crucial.
Freedom to question
02 May, 2024

Freedom to question

WITH frequently suspended freedoms, increasing violence and few to speak out for the oppressed, it is unlikely that...