No Way for US to Scrap JCPOA at Expense of Iran: Official
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Iranian official said the country would not let the US government withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) at the expense of Tehran, stressing, though, that it would not be reasonable to try to maintain the nuclear deal ‘at any cost’, either.
“The US is seeking to withdraw from the JCPOA at the expense of Iran, while we would definitely not give that country (the US) such an opportunity. Nonetheless, it does not mean maintaining the JCPOA at any cost (is an option),” Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said Wednesday.
As regards a bill the US Congress has recently passed to impose new sanctions on Tehran, Shamkhani said the Iranian committee monitoring the JCPOA implementation has formulated a set of measures in the “legal, technical, nuclear, economic, political, defense and military spheres” to respond to the US measure.
He further described the new US administration’s “lack of smartness and ingenuity” as an opportunity for Iranian diplomatic bodies, saying Washington’s current policy on the JCPOA was predictable.
The Iranian delegation monitoring the implementation of the JCPOA, a nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), convened in Tehran on Monday to discuss the recent US Congressional bill, concluding that Washington has violated the deal, most notably its articles 26, 28 and 29.
The monitoring delegation further devised a plan in 16 articles on proper reaction to the US provocative measures. President Hassan Rouhani is going to notify Iranian organizations, including the Foreign Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, of the details of the new decision.
Last week, the US Senate voted overwhelmingly to impose new sanctions against Iran, Russia and North Korea on Thursday. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives had already passed the bill in a 419-3 vote.
Iran and the Group 5+1 reached the 159-page nuclear agreement in July 2015 and implemented it in January 2016.
Many experts have slammed the US Congress’ move as a breach of both the text and the spirit of the JCPOA.
