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Rouhani announced that Tehran will be gradually suspending its commitments under the deal, giving other parties subsequent periods of 60 days to negotiate a reversal of those actions. He blamed European signatories of failing to compensate to Iran the damage done by US unilateral sanctions after Washington broke its part of the bargain.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif earlier told reporters Tehran would be backing out of some "voluntary commitments" under the 2015 agreement as a response to the EU's inability to stand up to the pressure of Washington's attempts to isolate Iran.

As of now, Tehran will no longer sell off excessive enriched uranium and heavy water, the Iranian president said. Under JCPOA terms, it is required to dispose of those materials if production exceeds certain thresholds.

Other signatories will have 60 days to negotiate with Iran and address its concerns, particularly in oil industry and banking sector, which Washington targets with its sanctions. If an agreement is reached, the suspension will be reversed.

Otherwise Iran will no longer be bound by an obligation not to enrich uranium over a certain level and may restore the shut heavy water nuclear reactor in Arak, which was supposed to be repurposed with the help of other signatories under the nuclear deal.

After those measures are implemented, 60 more days will be given for negotiations, Rouhani warned. And then Iran may take additional unspecified measures, he said.

Rouhani defended the JCPOA as a deal that was beneficial to Iran and detrimental to the enemies of Iran. He said only "radicals in the US," Israel and Saudi-led Arab nations were interested in destroying it.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said Tehran's decision to row back on its commitments under the nuclear pact is reversible, and the deal can be saved if European states meet their obligations.

Zarif is currently in Moscow, where he told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that Iran's move doesn't violate the original terms of the 2015 agreement. He added that there's now a 60-day period for diplomatic activity over its decision.

Iran can guarantee the continued survival of the deal if European nations fulfill their obligations under the agreement, Zarif said.

Iran says the move is a response to the US' withdrawal from the agreement one year ago, and the external pressure that has been placed on Tehran as a result. Zarif said only Russia and China have supported Iran and helped it to keep the nuclear deal going.

Zarif blamed the other signatories - Britain, Germany and France - for failing to shield it from US sanctions. France said that the three European states are doing all they can to keep the accord alive, while China has stated that all sides have a responsibility to ensure the agreement is fully implemented.

"Yes, they made some nice statements," Zarif said of comments from European leaders. "But in practice nothing happened."

Press TV reported on Wednesday, citing sources close to Iranian president Hassan Rouhani that Tehran might withdraw from the 1970 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons if the UN Security Council puts the issue of the Iranian nuclear deal on the agenda.

Commenting on the partial suspension of Iranian commitments under the JCPOA, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted earlier in the day it would be premature to hold a UNSC meeting on the matter.

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The Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) artillery have eliminated the terrorists responsible for the recent rocket attack on the Hmeimim airbase, the Ministry of Defense of Russia announced on May 8.

According to an official statement by the defense ministry, the attack was carried out by terrorist groups known as the Ard al-Bab Brigade and the al-Jabal Brigade. The two groups launched the rockets from the demilitarized zone around Idlib.

"The artillery recon units had promptly revealed 2 positions of the militants from which the attack was conducted. The firing points were eliminated by the Russian Aerospace Forces' aircraft and the Syrian Government Troops' artillery,

The Russian MoD added that the air defense systems in the Hmeimim airbase were able to intercept 12 rockets. Other rockets reportedly landed in civilian areas away from the airbase, causing material damage only.

The rocket attack was likely a response to the SAA's ongoing ground operation in northern Hama. In the last three days, the army captured four areas, including the strategic town of Kafr Nabudah.

In the early hours of May 8, terrorists hiding along the Syrian-Turkish border launched several rockets at the Russian Hmeimim airbase in the western Syrian governorate of Lattakia.

Local sources said that the rockets missed their target and landed in civilian areas away from the airbase. No civilians were reportedly injured or killed.

In what appears to be a response to the rocket attack, warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out a series of airstrikes on terrorists' positions in the town of Kabani in the northern Lattakia countryside.

Kabani is an infamous stronghold for several terrorist groups, including the al-Qaeda-affiliated Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), Ajnad al-Kavkaz (AK) and Horas al-Din.

A large, well-equipped force of the SAA's 4^th Division and the National Defense Forces (NDF) is currently stationed near Kabani. This force could launch a ground attack on the strategic town, if the attacks on Hmeimim went on. Such an attack will likely be a limited operation, similar to the ongoing one in northern Hama.