Zarif rejects new talks with the US, calling on the Europeans to fulfill commitments

Tabnak – Despite declaring a decision to reduce its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran has shown a serious interest toward preserving the deal from total collapse. While rejecting any new talks with the US on the issue, Iranian foreign minister reminds the Europeans of their obligations to save the JCPOA.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said that safeguarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is a responsibility that demands "practical measures" by the international community.

"Saving the JCPOA is a responsibility of the international community. If the international community considers the JCPOA as an important achievement, it should undertake practical measures to conserve it, just as Iran did," said Zarif after arriving in the Chinese capital of Beijing on Friday.

The Iranian foreign minister stressed that the international community has resorted to "publishing statements and comments instead of taking practical steps" to safeguard the JCPOA. “It is quite clear what we mean by practical steps; the normalization of Iran's economic relations. This is clearly mentioned in the JCPOA” he added.

Asked about the results of his negotiations with the other countries about the JCPOA before visiting China, Zarif said, “Our negotiations was more aimed at announcing the conditions and at consultations.”

Before departing to China and while paying an official visit to Japan, Zarif had also ruled out any prospect of negotiation with the United States, calling the Washington regime a “bully” trying to force all others into acting illegally.

"No, there is no possibility for negotiations," Zarif said, when asked about whether he would be open to holding bilateral talks aimed at easing tensions between Tehran and Washington.

"This is the first time in history that a bully is telling everybody else, important countries, that 'I'm going to punish you if you observe something that I do not like," he stated.

"Let us assume that a bully is standing in a cross section on the street and telling everybody, 'If you don't pass the red light, I'm going to beat you.' This is exactly what the US is telling them," he exemplified.

Zarif also criticized the European sides to the agreement for not fully fulfilling their commitments and Japan for going along with the US sanctions despite publicly supporting the nuclear deal.

"I have to stress that it is important for all other members of the JCPOA to take serious account of their continued failure, because Europe unfortunately, while supporting [the] JCPOA verbally, has not been able to take any action. Unfortunately, our Japanese partners also have not taken action to implement [the] JCPOA," he said.

Last November, the US enforced sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic’s banking and energy sector. However, it granted waivers to eight countries, including Japan, allowing them to temporarily continue buying Iranian oil without facing US sanctions.

The White House, however, said in a statement issued on April 22 that the US president decided not to renew the waivers for the eight major buyers of Iranian oil.