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As Trump departs, Iran says 'ball in Washington’s court' to reinstate nuclear deal

President Hassan Rouhani appeared more upbeat on the prospects of the Iran nuclear deal on the day that Donald Trump departed from the White House.
Marine One helicopter, with President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump aboard, flies over the National Mall in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, Pool)

Donald Trump’s departure from the White House must have prompted a sigh of relief from his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, who declared the outgoing US leader “dead” and the Iran nuclear deal “alive and more kicking than ever.”

Addressing a Cabinet meeting Jan. 20, Rouhani said that “the ball is now in Washington’s court” to abide by its obligations under the 2015 accord from which Trump walked away in May 2018, reinstating a set of onerous economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

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