Iran: No Way to Renegotiate JCPOA
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Following the US president’s threat not to waive the anti-Iran sanctions again and his call for amendments to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran’s Foreign Ministry made it clear that the nuclear agreement is by no means renegotiable.
In a statement released on Saturday, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed the hostile comments made by US President Donald Trump, who extended the international nuclear accord with Iran for the third time on Friday evening but also laid down conditions for another waiver.
Trump has said he will not grant another reprieve unless changes are made to the JCPOA, the nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
In conjunction with the waivers, the US Treasury Department placed sanctions on 14 people and entities for alleged offenses unrelated to Iran’s nuclear industry. The entities sanctioned include Iranian Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani.
“Despite my strong inclination, I have not yet withdrawn the United States from the Iran nuclear deal,” Trump said in a statement. “Instead, I have outlined two possible paths forward: either fix the deal’s disastrous flaws, or the United States will withdraw.”
In response, the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s statement has reiterated that the JCPOA is a valid international document that would not be renegotiated at all.
It also underscored that Iran will not do anything beyond its commitments under the JCPOA, will not agree on any changes in the agreement, and will not allow any links between the JCPOA and any other subject.
Like the other parties to the JCPOA, the US government must honor its commitments to the deal and stop shirking its responsibility under bogus pretexts, the statement added, holding Washington accountable for the consequences of withdrawal from the agreement.
“The internal solidity of and international support for the agreement have blocked attempts by Mr. Trump, the Zionist regime (of Israel), and the ominous alliance of hardline warmongers to terminate this agreement or make changes to it,” the ministry said.
Iranian officials have already warned the US of the heavy price it will have to pay for scrapping the JCPOA, saying Tehran has devised plans to deal with a possible US withdrawal and will take swift measures to restore Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Since the historic deal was signed in Vienna in July 2015, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly confirmed the Islamic Republic’s compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA, but some other parties, especially the US, have failed to live up to their undertakings.