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Iran's Rouhani Urges Diplomacy in Dealings With World Powers


In this photo released by official website of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a ceremony marking the country's nuclear energy national day, in Tehran, Iran, Apr. 7, 2016.
In this photo released by official website of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a ceremony marking the country's nuclear energy national day, in Tehran, Iran, Apr. 7, 2016.

Iran's president, Hassan Rouhani, has urged more diplomacy in dealing with world powers, saying that the implementation of last year's nuclear deal shows that "logic and argument can triumph over hard power and threats."

"Being radical is disadvantageous to us everywhere," Rouhani said in a speech marking the country's national day of nuclear energy. "It creates the biggest danger for any society."

Rouhani said that Iran should both talk to the world and also seek self-reliance, warning that the benefits provided by the nuclear deal will not last forever.

"The opportunity the nuclear deal has created for us is not permanent and eternal," he said. "Opportunities pass like passing clouds."

Rouhani's comments come days after the chief of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, criticized the deal, saying it was "not a document of honor."

Under the deal, Tehran pledged to scale back its uranium-enriching activities, submit to inspections and accepted a cap on its nuclear activities in return for the lifting of economic sanctions.

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