RTWed, 08 May 2019 17:35 UTC
© Reuters/Leonhard FoegerAn Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria, January 15, 2016
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has said that Iran will continue to abide by the 2015 nuclear deal - but will no longer implement some optional commitments, due to the lack of EU pushback against the US.
Zarif, who arrived in Russia on Tuesday, sought to debunk speculation that Iran is considering abandoning part of its binding commitments under the internationally acclaimed accord, struck back in 2015.
"Iran's future actions will be fully within the [nuclear deal], from which the Islamic Republic will not withdraw," Zarif told reporters in Moscow.
He chastised the US for being hell-bent on tearing up the deal, and the EU for being too weak to resist American pressure and preserve the accord.
"Washington's efforts to suspend the work of the international treaty are clear," he said. "The European Union and others... did not have the power to resist US pressure, therefore Iran... will not carry out some voluntary commitments."Letters specifying the changes in Iran's implementation of the deal will be sent to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and the leaders of Russia, China, Germany, the UK, and France. Ambassadors of the countries will be briefed on the revised terms by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Tehran, IRNA reported earlier.
The deal has been hanging in the balance since May last year, when US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of it, reintroducing sanctions that had been lifted in return for Iran scaling back its nuclear program. Since its withdrawal, the US has been ramping up belligerent rhetoric towards Iran, imposing additional sets of sanctions, and has declared Tehran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps "terrorists."
In a bid to reduce Iran's oil exports to "zero," the US last week decided not to extend six-month waivers on Iranian crude that it had given to eight countries following their expiration on May 1, despite an outcry from the EU. In the most recent show of force, Washington
deployed four B-52 heavy bombers and a carrier strike group to the Middle East, citing a "credible" threat from Iran.
Zarif and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov are scheduled to meet on Wednesday, exactly one year after Trump withdrew the US from the accord.
Comment: Iran's President Hassan Rouhani further
added that the Iranian move was reciprocal action to US complete withdrawal from it under President Donald Trump.
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.
Iran has decided to
resume activities it had ceased under the terms of the JCPOA:
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.
Yet Iran is still holding the door
open for a renewed agreement:
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."
But unless there is substantive progress, there are
rumors Iran may also withdraw from an even older treaty:
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.
Comment: Iran's President Hassan Rouhani further added that the Iranian move was reciprocal action to US complete withdrawal from it under President Donald Trump. Iran has decided to resume activities it had ceased under the terms of the JCPOA: Yet Iran is still holding the door open for a renewed agreement: But unless there is substantive progress, there are rumors Iran may also withdraw from an even older treaty: