JCPOA Ministerial Meeting Informal, Not Confined to Nuclear Deal: Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the informal ministerial meeting of the JCPOA participants on Monday does not focus on the JCPOA-related topics alone.
Speaking at a weekly press conference on Monday, Saeed Khatibzadeh said the foreign ministers of the remaining parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) have held an informal videoconference starting at 11:30 am local time.
The meeting does not focus on the subjects relating to the JCPOA alone, but discusses a combination of developments over the past couple of months, he added.
Asked about the recent comments from the foreign minister of Russia about Tehran’s readiness for talks over non-JCPOA issues, Khatibzadeh reiterated that the 2015 nuclear deal would not be subject to renegotiation by any means.
“The JCPOA is an issue that has gone through its process, has been negotiated, signed and finalized, and it is impossible to reopen it,” the spokesperson added.
Iran has displayed “maximum resistance” against the idea of renegotiation of the JCPOA and would not hold talks with anybody on its national security and interests, he stressed, adding that Tehran has its own “defense priorities” and would act according to them.
The JCPOA was signed in 2015 between Iran and the Group 5+1 and endorsed by the UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
However, US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled Washington out of the nuclear deal in May 2018 and reinstated the anti-Iranian sanctions that had been lifted by the deal.
As the remaining European parties have failed to fulfill their commitments to the accord and compensate for Washington’s absence, Iran moved in May 2019 to scale back its JCPOA commitments.
