Iran urges EU to clarify response to possible US withdrawal from JCPOA

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi has called on Europe to clarify how it will react if Washington abandons the multinational Iran deal and imposes news sanctions on the country.

Speaking at a conference in the French capital, Paris, on Tuesday, Takht-Ravanchi said that Tehran would not be the first party to withdraw from the nuclear accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), but it has prepared itself for any scenario.

Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – the US, France, Britain, Russia and China – plus Germany signed the nuclear agreement on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.

Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.

However, the new US administration has adopted a combative approach vis-à-vis the deal, with President Donald Trump calling it “the worst deal ever" and repeatedly threatening to withdraw Washington from it.

Trump delivered an anti-Iran speech on October 13, in which he said he would not continue to certify Iran’s compliance with the terms of the JCPOA, reached under his predecessor, Barack Obama, and warned that he might ultimately terminate the agreement. He kicked the issue to Congress.

Congress was given 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions that were lifted under the deal, in exchange for restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities.

The hostile speech came in defiance of numerous reports by the International Atomic Energy (IAEA), which has confirmed Iran’s full compliance with its side of the JCPOA.

Addressing a conference on nuclear energy at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington on Monday, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano once again hailed Iran for remaining fully committed to the terms of the nuclear deal.

“Now, almost two years since Implementation Day (January 16, 2016), I can state that the nuclear-related commitments made by Iran under the JCPOA are being implemented,” said Amano.

The other parties to the accord and the whole world community have all reaffirmed their commitment to the JCPOA and urged the United States not to back out.

Reacting to Trump’s mid-October speech, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Trump is not in a position to terminate Iran’s deal, reaffirming the bloc’s determination to fulfill its commitments.

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