Other Parties Have Started Efforts to Save JCPOA: Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi said following the country’s moves to reduce commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the other parties have started efforts to save the accord.
“Following the steps that the Islamic Republic of Iran has taken to balance its rights against its obligations (under the deal), some measures and efforts have started by countries that are members of the JCPOA or outside of the deal,” Mousavi told the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) on Thursday.
Their diplomatic visits and negotiations are underway in a bid to preserve this agreement and keep it alive, he added.
The spokesman further pointed to the recent visit to Iran by Emmanuel Bonne, the diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, and said the visit was part of the efforts, which Iran welcomes provided that they are accompanied by “practical steps (by the other parties) to fulfill their obligations”.
The IAEA held a special meeting on Wednesday at Washington’s request to win the Board of Governors’ support for its anti-Iran claims about the JCPOA.
The emergency meeting of the 35-member Board of Governors of the IAEA was held in Vienna to discuss Iran’s nuclear program, which wrapped up with no conclusion.
The meeting came a few days after Iran increased the level of its uranium enrichment to 4.5%, which is beyond the limit set by the JCPOA. The move was part of the second phase of the country’s May 8 decision to reduce its commitments under the multilateral 2015 nuclear deal in reaction to the US violations and Europe’s inaction.
In May 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the JCPOA.
Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the JCPOA after the US withdrawal, but the three EU parties to the deal (France, Britain, and Germany) have failed to ensure Iran’s economic interests.
The EU’s inaction forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments to the nuclear deal, including a rise in the stockpile of enriched uranium.
Iran maintains that the new measures are not designed to harm the JCPOA but to save the accord by creating a balance in the commitments.
