Zarif: Adhering to the JCPOA is not the only option facing Iran
Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, wrote on Thursday, September 29, in response to the new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency regarding Iran's adherence to the nuclear agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that remaining in the JCPOA is not the only option facing Iran.
The Iranian Foreign Minister wrote on his Twitter account: "If the goal is to preserve the JCPOA, there is no choice but to have the courage to implement commitments and normalize economic relations with Iran, rather than making irrelevant demands."
Mohammad Javad Zarif added: Adhering to the agreement (JCPOA) in action and not in words is not the only option facing Iran.
In his Twitter message, the Iranian Foreign Minister posted an image of a Reuters news headline regarding the International Atomic Energy Agency's report on Iran's compliance with the JCPOA.
Reuters wrote that the IAEA, in its second quarterly report after the US withdrew from the JCPOA and reimposed nuclear sanctions against Iran, said that Iran has complied with restrictions imposed on its nuclear activities under the 2015 agreement with world powers.
Following the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal with six world powers on May 8 of this year, Washington announced that it would reinstate sanctions against Iran. In this context, Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 5, announcing that some of the sanctions against the Islamic Republic, which had been suspended after the nuclear deal was reached, would be reimposed.
The second round of sanctions, which mainly targets Iran's oil industry, is set to take effect on November 4. American officials say they are trying to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero by then.
Following the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, officials in the country announced that "anyone who does business with Iran will not have a deal with the United States."
A large number of European companies have stopped their activities in Iran and left the country.
Britain, France and Germany have said they will continue to adhere to the agreement.
However, America's European allies, who are seeking to preserve the nuclear deal, have been trying in recent months to find a way to open up Iranian banking transactions so that Iran can continue to export its oil.
This is despite the fact that the Iranian Foreign Minister considered the actions of these three European countries insufficient and said that the measures were more of a declaration of position than operational.
In this context, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, said on September 27 that the Iranian government should not place its hopes on the Europeans in the areas of the JCPOA and the economy.
The Leader of the Islamic Republic added: "There is no problem with communication and continuing negotiations with Europe, but you should continue to do so and give up hope on them regarding issues such as the JCPOA or the economy."
American officials say that Iran has not actually adhered to the spirit of the JCPOA through its "destabilizing" actions in the Middle East, including missile activity and assistance to regional militia groups.
The United States wants to renegotiate the JCPOA, Iran's ballistic missile program, and regional activities, while Iran has rejected any renegotiation of the JCPOA.
Source: Radio Farda
