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Rouhani issued the warning in a televised speech to Iran's parliament Tuesday, kicking off a vote-of-confidence session for nominated ministers of his second-term cabinet.

"Iran could quit the nuclear deal within hours if the US imposes more sanctions," Rouhani said, according to Iran's state-run Press TV.

"Iran has remained and will remain committed to the deal, though any breach of promise by other parties will receive appropriate responses," he added, according to Iran's semi-official MEHR news agency.

He also suggested the US was an unreliable partner, according to MEHR, citing the Trump administration's withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement and new restrictions imposed by the US on Cuba.

Rouhani was a key architect of the 2015 nuclear agreement with the United States, the European Union and other partners.

The deal led to the lifting of most international sanctions against Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

In response, Iran's parliament passed a bill Sunday outlining plans to "counter US terrorist measures in the region," according to Iran's state-run Press TV.

The US has accused Iran of stoking chaos in the Middle East and condemned the country's support for US-designated terrorist groups, militias and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"The United States remains deeply concerned about Iran's malign activities across the Middle East, which undermine regional stability, security and prosperity," US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement in July.

"The actions of the US regarding the implementation [of the nuclear deal] show that the US can't be trusted," Rouhani said. "The world should know that any abrogation pertaining to the agreement would face the unanimous reaction of the nation and the government of Iran."

CNN's Hilary Clarke contributed to this report.

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Rouhani: Iran may quit nuclear deal if new sanctions imposed ...

One of Irans leading opposition politicians called off a hunger strike from his hospital bed on Thursday after intelligence officials agreed to withdraw agents from his house, where he has been under arrest for six years.

Mehdi Karroubi, a 79-year-old who suffers from heart disease and was recently outfitted with a pacemaker, was hospitalized Thursday morning with high blood pressure, hours after beginning the hunger strike.

He demanded that authorities remove the 12 intelligence agents posted around the clock at his home and set a date for him to stand trial, said his son, Mohammad Taghi Karroubi. The elder Karroubi, who led a protest movement after the disputed 2009 presidential election, has been held with no charges.

The strike generated such a public outcry that officials from the intelligence and health ministries visited Karroubi on Thursday evening for negotiations, according to the Saham news agency, which is close to the Karroubi family.

Karroubis son tweeted afterward that officials promised to expend all their efforts to give him a public trial. But no date was set, and it seemed likely that the ailing opposition leader would remain under house arrest indefinitely, albeit with a smaller security presence.

Karroubi would remain in the cardiac care unit of Shahid Rajaie Hospital in northern Tehran for 48 hours for observation, his son said.

The hunger strike, though brief, intensified pressure against Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who has frustrated his supporters by failing to enact many of the reforms he promised, including the release of Karroubi and two other opposition leaders.

During his reelection campaign this year, Rouhani supporters wore green armbands to rallies and demanded the release of Karroubi, former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi and his wife, Zahra Rahnavard leaders of the so-called Green Movement.

Karroubi and Mousavi are reformists who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2009 against incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a disputed election that was followed by widespread protests. Two years later, in the wake of the Arab Spring unrest elsewhere in the Arab world, they were placed under house arrest, where they have been held without charges.

Rouhanis failure to secure the opposition leaders release underscores his limited powers despite winning two national elections. Many of the presidents reform-minded supporters have grown disillusioned after he named an all-male Cabinet, believing he is being outmaneuvered by the hard-line clerics and security officials who guide Irans theocracy.

This February, three months before the election, the countrys supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected calls for national reconciliation, indicating that the Green Movement leaders would remain under arrest.

Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of Irans parliament, wrote on Instagram that Karroubis hunger strike should be a warning to those who insist on the continuation of his house arrest.

People close to Karroubis family had said he was receiving nutrients via intravenous drip while in his hospital bed. But they were worried that complications from hypertension and heart disease could endanger his life.

If he passes away, Rouhanis supporters will withdraw their support, Siavash Ramesh, an outspoken political activist, said before the strike ended. They will be convinced that Rouhani and his gang are a bunch of liars who bagged votes and did nothing for those under house arrest.

Special correspondent Mostaghim reported from Tehran, and Times staff writer Bengali from Mumbai, India.

shashank.bengali@latimes.com

Twitter: @SBengali

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UPDATES:

8:50 a.m.: This article was updated after the hunger strike ended.

This article was originally published at 6:45 a.m.

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79-year-old Iranian opposition leader calls off hunger strike but will remain under house arrest - Los Angeles Times

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran could abandon its nuclear agreement with world powers "within hours" if the United States imposes any more new sanctions, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday.

"If America wants to go back to the experience (of imposing sanctions), Iran would certainly return in a short time - not a week or a month but within hours - to conditions more advanced than before the start of negotiations," Rouhani told a session of parliament broadcast live on state television.

Iran says new U.S. sanctions breach the agreement it reached in 2015 with the United States, Russia, China and three European powers in which it agreed to curb its nuclear work in return for the lifting of most sanctions.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the new U.S. sanctions were unrelated to the Iran nuclear deal and that Iran must be held responsible for "its missile launches, support for terrorism, disregard for human rights, and violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions."

"Iran cannot be allowed to use the nuclear deal to hold the world hostage ... The nuclear deal must not become 'too big to fail'," Haley said in a statement on Tuesday, responding to Rouhani.

Haley will travel to Vienna next week to discuss Iran's nuclear activities with U.N. atomic watchdog officials as part of Washington's review of Tehran's compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "considers the (Iran nuclear deal) to be one of the utmost diplomatic achievements in our collective search for peace and security," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

"We need to do whatever we can to preserve it," Dujarric said.

The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on six Iranian firms in late July for their role in the development of a ballistic missile program after Tehran launched a rocket capable of putting a satellite into orbit.

In early August, U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law new sanctions on Iran, Russia and North Korea passed by the U.S. Congress. The sanctions in that bill also target Iran's missile programs as well as human rights abuses.

The United States imposed unilateral sanctions after saying Iran's ballistic missile tests violated a U.N. resolution, which endorsed the nuclear deal and called upon Tehran not to undertake activities related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such technology.

It stopped short of explicitly barring such activity.

Iran denies its missile development breaches the resolution, saying its missiles are not designed to carry nuclear weapons.

"The world has clearly seen that under Trump, America has ignored international agreements and, in addition to undermining the (nuclear deal), has broken its word on the Paris agreement and the Cuba accord ... and that the United States is not a good partner or a reliable negotiator," Rouhani said.

Trump said last week he did not believe that Iran was living up to the spirit of the nuclear deal.

Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by Angus MacSwan and James Dalgleish

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Iran could quit nuclear deal in 'hours' if new U.S. sanctions ...

Members of the Iranian revolutionary guard march during a parade to commemorate the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), in Tehran September 22, 2011.. (photo credit:REUTERS)

On Wednesday a report revealed that Iran is likely involved in building missile factories in northern Syria. Derived from satellite images taken from the EROS satellite, ImageSat International reported that Syria is building missile factories with Iranian inspiration. The detailed images showed a valley full of buildings in Wadi Jahannam, east of the city of Baniyas.

The buildings bear a resemblance to surface-to-surface missile factories in Iran. The complex is not small, but takes up several kilometers in a valley. The complex is also located close to other sensitive military sites including the Port of Tartus where Russia maintains a naval presence and Khmeimim Air Base near Latakia.

The revelations about Iranian plans to build missiles in Syria only add a new layer of evidence to Irans multipronged attempts to increase its power in the Middle East. The parliament in Tehran recently sought to increase funding for Irans ballistic missile program by $260 million.

A high level Israeli delegation of intelligence officials is reportedly leaving for Washington in the next weeks.

This also ties into Hezbollahs missile build-up and the close ties between Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Mark Dubowitz, chief executive officer at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and Wisconsin Congressman Mike Gallagher recently detailed in The Wall Street Journal the extent of Irans projects in Lebanon. Buried more than 50 meters below ground and protected from aerial attack, these facilities could produce highly sophisticated rockets with ranges of more than 300 miles and equipped with advanced guidance systems.

Dubowitz and Gallagher argue that in reaction to this, the US should make clear to the Lebanese government that it is violating UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which was supposed to make it so Lebanon was free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons not under government control. The US and European partners could also sanction Iran for using human shields in Lebanon, and sanction companies controlled by military entities in charge of Irans ballistic missile program.

This would be a good start, but the deeper problem with Iran is that its involvement in Lebanon with Hezbollah is, like with the factory near Baniyas, only one layer of a complex attempt to gain hegemony in the Middle East. Iran is also reportedly sending warships to the Atlantic Ocean. It is deeply involved in Iraq, supporting the Hashd al-Shaabi Shia militias that are now part of the Iraqi government. It has played a key role in Syria supporting Bashar Assad. And Iran has less problems attracting foreign investment, especially from Europe, now that it is free from the sanctions imposed prior to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran doesnt keep its policies secret either. Press TV, which is related to the regime in Tehran, headlined on Thursday that President Hassan Rouhanis new pick for defense minister has underlined his resolve to further enhance ballistic missile capabilities. Brig.-Gen. Amir Hatami boasted that in the next four years, apart from enhancing combat and defense capabilities, we will devote a special effort to boost missile and ballistic power, strategic air power as well as strategic maritime power and increase rapid reaction force.

Irans defense chiefs have also made frequent strategic visits abroad. In April the defense minister was in Moscow and on Wednesday, Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Mohammad Baqeri flew to Ankara to meetings with defense officials.

The larger picture also involves Irans progress in filling the void left by the decline in Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. As ISIS is defeated, pro-Iranian proxies have filled the vacuum in the western deserts of Iraq and also in the swath of desert in Syria that leads to the Euphrates River. This would create a physical land-bridge from Tehran to the sea, a corridor of influence and power that is unprecedented. Hezbollah has threatened to use Shia Iraq fighters in the next war with Israel, and Israel is concerned that cease-fire agreements along the Golan have empowered Iran, the Syrian regime and Hezbollah.

The reported visit by Israeli officials with their American counterparts should include attempts to get Americas defense establishment on board with a plan to confront Iran in the region. This doesnt require reneging on the Iran nuclear deal, because the real Iranian threat today is through proxies and influence in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. It is essential that the defeat of ISIS be followed by a policy for dealing with Tehran.

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Iran's great game - The Jerusalem Post mobile website

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region Iran and Turkey are warning that the Kurdistan independence referendum could spark conflict in Iraq that would have a knock-on destabilizing effect in the region.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted Irans military chief of staff General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri along with Turkeys top general Hulusi Akar in Ankara on Wednesday.

In meetings between the Turkish and Iranian sides, both stressed that if the referendum is held, it will become the basis for a series of tensions and conflicts inside Iraq, which will have consequences on neighboring countries, Bagheri told Irans IRNA on Thursday.

He added that the two shared the view that the referendum should not take place.

Bagheri is on a three day visit to Ankara meeting with political and military leaders. This is the first such visit for Irans military chief to the Turkish capital since 1979, he told IRNA. Iran and Turkey, who each have significant Kurdish populations, have said separately that they oppose the Kurdistan Regions plans to hold an independence referendum on September 25.

Spokesperson for the Turkish Presidency Ibrahim Kalin called on Erbil to renege on its decision to hold the historic vote, telling reporters on Thursday that Baghdad should take certain steps to please Erbil. We call upon them to renege on this decision. They can pass this decision in their parliament and print voting cards. What is important is to think wisely and take the right steps. In this regard, there are some steps which both the Baghdad government and the [Kurdistan Regional Government, KRG] should take. With respect to this, we will be doing whatever we should in consultation with regional countries, Kalin said. He also implied that holding the referendum will not resolve the problems of the region, highlighting Turkeys particular opposition to the inclusion of the disputed city of Kirkuk in the vote. The Turkmen will boycott this referendum, Kalin said, calling Kirkuk a Turkmen city. This way, its legitimacy will be called into question. Our call is for them to renege on this decision. I hope that the Erbil government withdraws from this mistake as soon as possible.

Turkeys Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told state broadcaster TRT on Wednesday that holding the referendum when Iraq already has many problems could lead the country to civil war. The KRG is planning to hold the referendum on September 25 despite concerns from regional neighbors and a request from the US to postpone it. A referendum delegation is visiting Iraqi and foreign officials in Baghdad this week, including the ambassador from Iran, who has taken a softer tone than that of the Turks and Iranians in Ankara. The Islamic Republic of Iran supports any sort of negotiations between the [Kurdistan] Region and the central [government] in Baghdad. Iran will support and takes interest in any agreement they reach through negotiations, Irans ambassador Iraj Masjedi said in a joint press conference with the referendum delegation in Baghdad on Tuesday. On Thursday a source within the Kurdistan delegation visiting Baghdad told Rudaw that there is a small chance the Kurdistan Region would agree to postpone the referendum until after Iraqs elections if Baghdad gives guarantees that it would approve the referendum at a later date. The guarantee should come in writing and be observed by the United Nations and the United States, the source explained.

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Iran, Turkey warn Kurdistan referendum will cause 'conflict' in Iraq - Rudaw