Zarif: Commitment to JCPOA is Not Iran’s Only Option

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s Foreign Minister, wrote on Thursday, August 29, in response to a recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency regarding Iran’s compliance with the nuclear agreement, the JCPOA, that remaining in the JCPOA is not Iran’s only option.

Iran’s Foreign Minister wrote on his Twitter account: If the goal is to preserve the JCPOA, there is no other way but to have the courage to implement commitments and normalize economic relations with Iran, rather than raising irrelevant demands.

Mohammad Javad Zarif added: Being committed to the agreement (JCPOA) in practice and not in words is not Iran’s only option.

Iran’s Foreign Minister shared an image of a Reuters news headline regarding the International Atomic Energy Agency’s report on Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA in this Twitter message.

Reuters reported that the Agency, in its second quarterly report after the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA and the resumption of nuclear sanctions against Iran, states that Iran has complied with the restrictions imposed on its nuclear activities according to the 2015 agreement with world powers.

Following the U.S. withdrawal from Iran’s nuclear agreement with six world powers on April 8, Washington announced it would reinstate sanctions against Iran. In this regard, Donald Trump announced on August 6 with an executive order that some of the sanctions against the Islamic Republic that had been suspended following the nuclear deal were reinstated.

The second round of sanctions, which mainly targets Iran’s oil industry, is set to be implemented on November 4. U.S. officials say they are trying to bring Iranian oil exports to zero by that time.

Following the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, this country’s officials announced: “Whoever deals with Iran will not have a deal with the United States.”

Many European companies have suspended their activities in Iran and left the country.

Britain, France, and Germany announced they would remain committed to the agreement.

However, America’s European allies, who seek to preserve the nuclear agreement, have recently been trying to find a way for Iranian banking transactions so that Iran can continue its oil exports through it.

This is while Iran’s Foreign Minister did not consider the measures of these three European countries sufficient and said that these actions are more of a position statement than operational.

In this regard, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Republic, on August 29, said the government should not have hope in Europeans regarding the JCPOA and the economy.

The Leader of the Islamic Republic added: “There is no problem with contact and continued negotiations with Europe, but while continuing this, you should cut off hope from them regarding matters such as the JCPOA or the economy.”

U.S. officials say Iran, through its “destabilizing” actions in the Middle East, including missile activities and support for regional paramilitary groups, has not actually been committed to the spirit of the JCPOA.

The U.S. seeks to renegotiate the JCPOA, Iran’s ballistic missile program, and Iran’s regional activities. This is while Iran has rejected any renegotiation of the JCPOA.

Source: Radio Farda