Lifting Sanctions Only Way to Save JCPOA, Rouhani Tells Merkel
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said modifying the 2015 nuclear deal is out of the question, adding that the only way to save the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is to lift Washington’s “inhumane sanctions” on Tehran.
Speaking in a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday, hours after he restated Iran’s long-held position that it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons or run a secretive nuclear program, Rouhani categorically dismissed the possibility of injecting new items into the already negotiated nuclear deal), which was struck on July 14, 2015 between Iran and six world powers – the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.
“The JCPOA, as a document approved by the UN Security Council and a product of sustained efforts by Iran and six major countries in the world, has a clear framework and cannot be changed,” Rouhani told Merkel, according to the president’s office.
The US unilaterally left the nuclear agreement under the Trump administration in May 2018, and then put enormous pressure on Iran with the declared aim of making a “better deal” that it said should include Iran’s missile program and its regional activities.
Tehran rejected the “excessive demands” and countered Trump’s so-called maximum pressure policy with its “maximum resistance”. Iran has since consistently dismissed calls to renegotiate the JCPOA, while criticizing the three European parties to the deal – also known as the E3 – for their apparent inability to stand up to US unilateralism and their failure to secure Iran’s interests under the agreement.
Hinting at Europe’s lack of commitment to the JCPOA in the aftermath of the US withdrawal, Rouhani said Iran should be able to see the effectiveness of the nuclear deal in practice, and Europe should practically prove that it is really after maintaining the JCPOA.
As part of Iran’s response to the US withdrawal, Iranian lawmakers approved a bill in early December, requiring the administration to resume uranium enrichment to 20 percent purity among other things. The Rouhani administration implemented the new law, but emphasized that Iran will reverse its actions if the other countries in the JCPOA safeguard its interests under the deal.
Rouhani said his administration is committed to further reducing the country’s obligations under the JCPOA, unless the sanctions are lifted, in which case “we will also completely implement our obligations within the framework of the JCPOA.”
For her part, Merkel called on Iran to take steps to ensure its return to full compliance to the JCPOA.
“She expressed her concern that Iran continues to fail to meet its obligations under the nuclear agreement,” Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.
“It is now time for positive signals that create trust and increase the chances of a diplomatic solution,” the chancellor said, according to Seibert.