Iran: No EU Offer on JCPOA Yet
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the country has not still received a proposal the European Union has pledged to make for saving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
In a statement on Saturday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi denied reports that European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini has submitted a package to Iran on the JCPOA, a multilateral nuclear agreement from which the US withdrew in May.
“The European Union’s proposed package has not been given to the Iranian side yet, and the EU states are still holding final consultations to put forward their proposals,” Qassemi said, adding that the package will be scrutinized as soon as Iran receives it.
Iran will take into account its national interests before making any decision on remaining in or leaving the JCPOA, the spokesman underlined.
Earlier this month, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi expressed a downbeat view of chances of saving the JCPOA, saying the (unofficial) proposals that Europeans have made fall below Iran’s expectations.
On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has underlined that any decision to keep the JCPOA running without the US should be conditional on “practical guarantees” from the Europeans.