Iran to Withdraw from JCPOA If National Interests Not Served: Spokesman
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Spokesman for the Iranian Administration Mohammad Baqer Nobakht said the country would remain committed to the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), only if its national interests are served by the deal.
“If our national interests are not served by the deal, we will not stay in the agreement for a moment,” Nobakht told reporters during his weekly press conference in Tehran on Tuesday.
He further emphasized that his position on the JCPOA is not personal but is “the firm stance” of the Establishment.
In a recent speech at the Chatham House think tank in London, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi said even if US President Donald Trump relents and issues fresh “waivers” to continue suspending anti-Iran sanctions based on the JCPOA, the existing situation is unacceptable for Iran.
“If the same policy of confusion and uncertainties about the JCPOA continues, if companies and banks are not working with Iran, we cannot remain in a deal that has no benefit for us,” Araqchi said. “That’s a fact.”
Trump told the Europeans on Jan. 12 they must agree to “fix the terrible flaws of the Iran nuclear deal” or he would re-impose the sanctions Washington lifted as part of that pact.
The JCPOA was reached in July 2015 and came into force in January 2016.
Since the historic deal was signed in Vienna, 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.