Iran’s Return to JCPOA Obligations Hinges on EU’s Measures, Zarif Says
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said if the European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), live up to their undertakings under the accord, Iran will also return to its obligations.
“Iran will decide whether Europe’s measures on the JCPOA commitments are sufficient for us to reduce or return to these commitments,” Zarif told reporters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday night.
If Europe provides Iran with the economic benefits of the JCPOA, Tehran would be willing to return to its nuclear deal commitments, he added.
Iran is ready to slow down or reverse its moves in reducing commitments on a par with what Europe is doing, the top diplomat went on to say.
In May 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the 2015 nuclear deal.
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.
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.