Iran’s FM: JCPOA to Survive
TOKYO (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he believes the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will continue to remain in force, because it is a diplomatically negotiated agreement struck after considering all wrong options.
“I believe that the JCPOA will continue to be maintained,” Zarif said in an address to members of the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA), at Tokyo’s Hotel Okura on Thursday, according to Tasnim dispatches.
Pointing to the high-profile meetings in India, China and Japan in his Asian tour over the past days, Zarif said everybody agrees that the JCPOA is an international and multilateral agreement that should be respected.
“But this would not mean that our options are limited,” he underlined, referring to Iran’s response to any violation of the nuclear deal.
Zarif also noted that it will be in the US interests to remain committed to the JCPOA.
The best scenario from the viewpoint of the United States would be maintaining the capability to re-impose sanctions against Iran, which raises the question why the US decided to enter into negotiations in the first place if the so-called “crippling sanctions” against Iran were effective, Zarif stated.
The remarks came against a backdrop of a controversial move by the US Congress to pass a bill extending the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) for ten more years.
Iran maintains that the move runs counter to US commitments to the JCPOA, the nuclear agreement between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), and will draw Tehran’s harsh response.
Apart from the speech to JIIA experts, Foreign Minister Zarif attended a gathering of Iranian nationals residing in Japan, on Thursday.
Heading a mainly trade delegation from the Iranian state-run and private enterprises, Zarif arrived in Japan early Wednesday, after visiting India and China.
He has met top Japanese officials, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.