Iran's Velayati: EU Officials’ Remarks on JCPOA Contradictory
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Ali Akbar Velayati, an international adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, cast doubt over the adherence of the European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), describing their remarks on the pact as contradictory.
“Some members of the European Union say they are committed to the JCPOA… but some other European officials say they are not going to stand against the Americans and give guarantees,” Velayati told reporters in Tehran on Sunday.
“This contradiction in the European officials’ remarks is dubious,” he said, adding, “We hope that our administration officials would be able to receive the necessary guarantees in their negotiations because otherwise, a party that is equivocal and makes contradictory remarks cannot be trusted.”
Velayati also pointed to the possibility that the French oil and energy giant Total may pull out of the Iran South Pars 11 (SP11) energy project, saying that the move is one of the examples of the Europeans’ non-commitment to the JCPOA.
The remarks came as a number of Iran’s top diplomats and administration officials on Sunday attended a closed session of the parliament about the future of the JCPOA.
Last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made a tight diplomatic trip for negotiations on how to save the JCPOA in the wake of the US withdrawal from the multilateral nuclear deal.
The foreign minister held meetings with Chinese and Russian officials in Beijing and Moscow and then traveled to Brussels for talks with the European parties to the JCPOA.
He was gauging international readiness to guarantee Iran’s interests if it decides to remain in the nuclear pact a week after US President Donald Trump announced that the US was walking away from the JCPOA.
In a speech from the White House on May 8, Trump accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism and seeking nukes before announcing the US withdrawal from the 2015 agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
Following the controversial decision, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Iran weighs plans to remain in the agreement with the other five parties, provided that they ensure full benefits for Iran.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has underlined that any decision to keep the deal running without the US should be conditional on “practical guarantees” from the three European parties to the JCPOA.