500 British, French, German MPs Warn US against Scrapping JCPOA
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – In an open letter to members of the US Congress, 500 British, French and German lawmakers warned against the consequences of a possible US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), urging their American counterparts to support the nuclear deal.
In the letter, released on Thursday, the signatories underlined that there is no evidence of Iran not fulfilling its obligations under the agreement.
They said that if the US scraps the deal, there would be “lasting damage to our credibility as international partners in negotiation, and more generally, to diplomacy as a tool to achieve peace and ensure security.”
“Abandoning the deal would diminish the value of any promises or threats made by our countries,” they added.
The European parliamentarians also warned that if the deal breaks down, “it will well-nigh be impossible to assemble another grand coalition built around sanctions against Iran.”
US President Donald Trump in January set a 120-day deadline for US lawmakers and European allies to “fix” his predecessor Barack Obama’s main foreign policy achievement or face a US exit.
Since the historic deal was signed by Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) 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.
On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif pointed to recent comments made by US officials against the nuclear deal and said, “What we have repeatedly said is that Iran will protect its interests and that Iran’s benefits from the JCPOA should be safeguarded.”
“Should the US leave the JCPOA, it will definitely see a reaction from Iran and the international community that will not be pleasant to it at all,” he warned.
In March, German Chancellor Angela Merkel also warned of serious repercussions of a possible US decision to pull out of the multilateral agreement, saying such a move would plunge the Middle East into war.