Iran's Speaker Urges West to Stop Bullying, Stick to Their Commitments

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf urged the Western countries to uphold their commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, warning them of any attempt to re-violate the agreement through "bullying policies."

“Iran will not let any excessive demands regarding the JCPOA revival and advise the Western side to refrain from violating the deal through bullying,” Qalibaf wrote in a Twitter post in Farsi early on Friday.

On Monday, Tehran provided the EU with its final conclusion on the talks aimed at reviving the JCPOA, emphasizing that it is now the US's turn to demonstrate realism and flexibility if a final agreement is to be reached.

“We have proven that if they comply with the agreement, we will also do,” added the speaker.

“We hope that the Western side would yield to the legitimate demands of the Iranian people in the negotiations,” he noted.

After four days of talks, Iran and the five remaining JCPOA parties concluded talks on August 8 with a revised text on the table.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian stated that if the US responds to Iran's offer in a realistic and flexible manner, "we will be at the point of agreement," adding that "the American side has orally agreed to two proposals offered by Iran."

In his most recent remarks, made during a phone call with his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi on Thursday afternoon, the Iranian minister stated that all outstanding issues must be resolved in order to reach a long-term agreement.

“We cannot talk with certainty about reaching a good and lasting agreement unless everything is agreed upon,” he said.

A report by the New York Times on Tuesday quoted officials as describing Iran’s response as “encouraging,” saying it does not raise major new objections.

Meanwhile, State Department spokesperson Ned Price confirmed on Wednesday that the US had received Iran’s comments via the EU. He said the US administration is studying the notes as it remains “engaged in consultations with the EU as well as with our European allies on the way ahead.”

Iran and the remaining parties to the JCPOA -- Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany -- started talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna in April last year. While the parties noted progress in multiple rounds of talks, the indecisiveness shown by Washington has prevented any significant breakthrough.

Last month, the negotiations were hosted in the Qatari capital of Doha in a different format, with Tehran and Washington holding indirect talks mediated by the European Union. Those talks also failed to produce any tangible result due to the excessive demands of the US.

Former US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the JCPOA in 2018 and reinstated the sanctions that the deal had lifted and imposed new ones.