Iran, France in an intensive diplomatic course to save the JCPOA

Tabnak – As Iran’s announced deadline for taking the third step in reducing its nuclear commitments is approaching, Tehran and Paris have entered intensive diplomatic talks for saving the JCPOA. Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic reaffirms its position of rejecting bilateral talks with the United States.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi, heading a delegation, attended a 10-hour meeting with French officials about President Emmanuel Macron’s recent proposal to save the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The meeting was held in Paris on Monday with a delegation of Iranian officials, including deputies of the governor of the Central bank of Iran (CBI) and the oil minister as well as the Iranian ambassador to the European country, in attendance.

The talks, which lasted more than 10 hours, focused on possible scenarios for furthering the initiative put forward by the French president on the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Ways to meet Iran's demands and interests under the JCPOA were the main topic of the meeting, and it was agreed that both sides would continue to work intensively on those scenarios, and increase their consultations with other parties concerned.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference in Tehran on Monday, Spokesman for the Iranian Administration Ali Rabiei referred to recent talks between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his French counterpart, and said, “In the past few weeks, there have been serious negotiations between the two presidents."

“Fortunately, the views have become closer together on many issues,” he said, adding, “Technical discussions on European commitments are now underway.”

Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that Tehran will reverse its decision to take the third step in reducing commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal if its oil is sold.

In comments at the Parliament on Tuesday, Rouhani said if the three European parties to the JCPOA -the UK, France, and Germany- begin to honor their major commitments under the nuclear deal, Iran may reconsider its decision to further reduce commitments to the JCPOA.

“However, if they fail to take any significant measure, we will definitely take the third step in the coming days,” the president underlined. What matters most at present is that Iran must be able to sell its oil, Rouhani stressed. “This would facilitate the conditions for us to take steps in (honoring JCPOA) commitments.”

“We are discussing a period of several months, until the end of (2019). We have not reached a final agreement yet, but the negotiations are in progress,” the president said.

Rouhani made it clear that Tehran will announce the beginning of the third step in scaling back the JCPOA commitments if the negotiations with Europe do not yield results until Thursday.

The president also strongly dismissed the possibility of bilateral talks with the US, saying Iran has always declined calls for direct talks with the US government.

Tehran has scaled back its nuclear commitments twice in compliance with articles 26 and 36 of the 2015 deal, after the US scrapped the agreement in May 2018 and the European parties failed to ensure Iran’s economic interests.

Iran maintains that all the measures are reversible, provided that the other parties fulfill their commitments.