Russian PM Calls Iran’s Stance on JCPOA Rational, Powerful
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev hailed Iran’s stance on the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), after the US withdrawal from the accord as powerful and rational.
Speaking a meeting with Iranian First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri in Turkmenistan on Monday, the Russian prime minister said that the US is pursuing broad policies against Iran and Russia and increasing its pressures on the two countries day by day.
He further said Moscow regards Tehran’s stance on the US withdrawal from the JCPOA as rational and powerful.
The US withdrawal was a measure taken under groundless pretexts and all countries understand this, Medvedev added.
Jahangiri, for his part, said all parties to the JCPOA should meet their obligations under the deal, adding that Iran reduced some of its nuclear commitments a year after the US withdrawal from the deal and the imposition of its cruel and inhumane sanctions against the Iranian nation.
The remarks came after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held a special meeting last month 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.
A few days earlier, 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.