(JTA) — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will address his nation on state television as Iran and world powers appear to be nearing a deal over his country’s nuclear program.
The address is scheduled to take place in Tehran at 10 p.m. Monday — 1:30 p.m. Eastern time in the United States — the French news agency AFP reported.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif attempted to lower expectations about a deal on Monday, saying the address would not be the announcement of an agreement on a nuclear deal with six world powers, including the United States.
Rouhani reportedly said Saturday at a meeting in Iran that the Islamic Republic has “managed to charm the world.”
“Even if the nuclear talks fail, our diplomacy showed the world that we are logical,” he said, according to Reuters. “We never left the negotiation table and always provided the best answer.”
Among the issues waiting for final agreement is a demand by Iran that a United Nations arms embargo be lifted and that any U.N. Security Council resolution approving the deal be written in a way that does not characterize Iran’s nuclear activities as illegal, The Associated Press reported Monday, citing unnamed diplomats.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said in a statement Sunday evening that he also tweeted, “The West is preparing to sign a bad agreement riddled with unprecedented compromise,” adding it will be a “historic mistake.”
“After it,” he said, “we will have to be prepared to defend ourselves on our own.”
