Nuclear deal saved Iran from disaster, says Dr AQ Khan

Claims ongoing chaos would have left the field open to a military coup sponsored by the West

Dr Abdul Qadir Khan, father of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, has said Iran has saved itself from disaster by striking a nuclear deal with world powers.

Commenting on the recently concluded deal between Iran and six major world powers, including the United States, Dr Khan said that Iran’s nuclear deal might have prevented a looming disaster either in the form of an internal coup or external invasion.

Read: Iran, big powers clinch landmark nuclear deal

Lauding the wise and pragmatic approach of the Iranian leadership, Dr Khan in an email sent to FOX News said they have “very wisely and pragmatically saved their country from a very bad situation --- call it a disaster, if you like.”

The father of Pakistan's nuclear programme claimed if Iran had not agreed to the deal then the “ongoing chaos would have left the field open to a military coup sponsored by the West, just as has happened in Egypt.”

Read: UN Security Council endorses Iran nuclear deal

The United Nations Security Council on Monday endorsed a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief, but it will be able to reimpose UN penalties during the next decade if Tehran breaches the historic agreement.

The 15-member body unanimously adopted a resolution that was negotiated as part of the agreement reached in Vienna last week between Iran and the world’s major powers.

In return for lifting US, EU and UN sanctions, Iran will be subjected to long-term curbs on a nuclear programme that the West suspected was aimed at creating an atomic bomb, but which Tehran says is peaceful.

The article originally appeared on FOX News