NEW YORK — Further cooperation between the United States and Iran on fighting terrorism in the region could be possible if the United States fulfills its commitments in the Iran nuclear deal to lift sanctions, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's chief of staff told Al-Monitor.

“This nuclear negotiations and agreement serves not only for the purpose of putting aside this obstacle, but also serves as a test whether this line of negotiations can bring about some level of confidence and trust between two sides,” the chief of staff, Mohammad Nahavandian, told Al-Monitor in an interview in New York on Sept. 26. “And it was mentioned by the supreme leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] as well that this nuclear issue is a test for us: to see how the other side is sincere in following up and in the true implementation of what is being agreed.”

Nahavandian said, “We have to see whether the implementation stage can bring about some level of trust."

A US-educated economist, Nahavandian has previously served as the president of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Mines, as deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council under Ali Larijani and as deputy minister of commerce. He spoke to Al-Monitor in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, which Rouhani and Obama as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to address the morning of Sept. 28.