Iran to Give ‘Very Unpleasant’ Response If US Withdraws from JCPOA: Zarif
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned that if Washington withdraws from the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Islamic Republic’s reaction would be “very unpleasant” to the US.
Zarif, who is on an official visit to New York to attend a United Nations General Assembly meeting, pointed to the US government’s possible withdrawal from the JCPOA and said Iran would definitely act based on its interests.
The top diplomat added that Tehran has a wide range of options to react to Washington’s possible move to leave the nuclear deal.
“Definitely, the measure that the Islamic Republic would take and the reaction that the international community would show to the US move would be very unpleasant to the Americans,” he noted.
Zarif is in the US to deliver an address to the UNGA High-Level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace at the UN headquarters in New York.
Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to curbs and inspections on its nuclear program in exchange for relief from anti-Tehran sanctions.
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.
In March, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned of serious repercussions of a US decision to pull out of the multilateral agreement, saying such a move would plunge the Middle East into war.