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Iran to 'take further measures' if JCPOA sides fail it: Rouhani

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks at the 5th Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, June 15, 2019. (Photo by president.ir)

President Hassan Rouhani has renewed Iran's ultimatum to scale back its commitments under a 2015 multilateral nuclear deal in the absence of "a proper response" from the remaining signatories.

Rouhani said Saturday Iran's compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has repeatedly been verified by the UN nuclear agency. 

The president touched on the US pullout from the JCPOA and its reimposition of illegal sanctions on Tehran, saying Iran still believes that the remaining sides could play an important role in increasing regional global and stability if they honored their obligations. 

"Obviously, Iran cannot unilaterally remain the sole party committed to the JCPOA," Rouhani told the 5th Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe. 

"Other countries also need to pay their share to save this important agreement," he added. 

Rouhani touched on Iran's decision last month to walk away from some of the restrictions of the nuclear deal in response to the other parties' failure to uphold their side of the bargain. 

"Now that our utmost goodwill and strategic patience in one hand and the US violation of law on the other hand have been proven to everyone, the Islamic Republic of Iran has decided to reduce its commitments based on Articles 26 and 36 of the JCPOA to restore balance to the agreement while being ready for any interaction," Rouhani said.

"If we don't receive a proper response, we will inevitably take further measures," he added.

The JCPOA was signed between Iran and six world states — namely the US, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China. Washington, however, left the accord last May, leaving the future of the historic deal in limbo.

Critical of Washington’s move, the European parties to the JCPOA vowed efforts to keep the deal in place by protecting Tehran against the US sanctions, but did little in practice.

Last month, Iran suspended some of its commitments under Articles 26 and 36 of the JCPOA, giving the other signatories 60 days to put their verbal support for the accord into concrete action.

EU official in Tehran

On Saturday, Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Helga Schmid held talks with Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi in Tehran.

Before arriving in Tehran, Schmid visited the UAE, Oman and Qatar. She was expected to discuss a non-dollar direct payment channel, called the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchange (INSTEX), with Iranian officials. 

'Iran a powerful barrier against terror'

In his address, the Iranian president also said the Islamic Republic has acted as "a powerful block" against the Takfiri terrorism in both Syria and Iraq, and prevented the spread of the scourge to other parts of the world.

Rouhani hailed Iran's "meritorious" role in providing peace and stability in the region and the world.

He further blasted some foreign powers for turning the Middle East into one of the most unstable regions through their interference in domestic affairs of the countries and their support for terrorism as well as their blatant violation of international accords. 


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