Iran to continue reducing nuclear commitments until its demands are met

Tabnak – Despite assessing the latest round of JCPOA talks in Vienna as constructive, Iranian officials still express dissatisfaction over failure of the Europeans to meet their commitments under the deal. In this vein, Tehran is expected to take next further steps in reducing its own commitments.

Iran has warned the UK, France and Germany -- the three European signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal – that it will not hesitate to take the third step in reducing its commitments under the agreement if they once again fail to meet its demands.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said Monday diplomatic efforts to save the agreement – known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – is underway but Tehran’s patience is limited.

“We are still waiting for the Europeans’ practical and concrete steps in implementing the JCPOA,” he told reporters during a daily briefing in Tehran.

The remarks came after an extraordinary meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission held in Vienna Sunday, where Tehran and the other signatories – the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany -- discussed the future of the landmark accord over a year after US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal.

This is while Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi had called the emergency meeting “constructive.”

“The atmosphere was constructive. Discussions were good. I cannot say that we resolved everything, I can say there are lots of commitments,” Araqchi told reporters after the meeting in Vienna on Sunday, Reuters reported.

“As we have said, we will continue to reduce our commitments to the deal until Europeans secure Iran’s interests under the deal,” he added.

Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, US, Britain, France, and Germany) on July 14, 2015, reached a conclusion over the text of the nuclear deal.

The accord took effect in January 2016 and was supposed to terminate all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran all at once, but its implementation was hampered by the US policies and its eventual withdrawal from the deal.

On May 8, 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the nuclear accord. Following the US withdrawal, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the deal.

However, the EU’s failure of ensure Iran’s economic interests forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments, including an unlimited rise in the stockpile of enriched uranium.

On July 1, Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium exceeded 300 kg.

In a statement issued after yesterday’s meeting, Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Helga Maria Schmid described the JCPOA as “a key element of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture, endorsed unanimously by UN Security Council Resolution 2231,” stressing the necessity of keeping the deal alive.