Iranian Official Warns Europe about US Blackmail to Nix JCPOA

“The JCPOA (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) is an international agreement, and it is incumbent upon those who negotiated and concluded it to show a stronger commitment and preserve the deal,” Ali Shamkhani told Al-Alam TV channel in a recent interview.

The Trump administration has been putting pressure on European parties to the deal to force them not to honor their obligations under the JCPOA, describing the move by the US as a “humiliation” for Europe and its political intellectuals, Shamkhani underscored.

Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France, and Germany) reached the 159-page nuclear agreement in July 2015 and implemented it in January 2016.

Since the historic deal was signed in Vienna, the IAEA has repeatedly confirmed Iran’s compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA, but some other parties, especially the US, have failed to live up with their undertakings.

Shamkhani further warned Europe that the potential collapse of the deal would discourage other countries from going to the negotiating table to discuss their activities.

The termination of the deal would also have a negative impact on Europe’s economy and security, he added.

The remarks came after US officials said recently that they plan to set up a new working group to “fix” the deal.

On Monday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said a working group comprising American and European officials (UK, France, and Germany) will soon begin to develop a “side agreement” to the Iran nuclear deal aimed at easing US President Donald Trump’s complaints about the pact.

“We will be discussing that through working groups beginning as early as next week and we’ll see what progress we can make,” Tillerson said.

Earlier this month, Trump again waived sanctions against Iran that were lifted as part of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, but threatened he would terminate the agreement if “significant flaws” in it are not fixed.

Ali Akbar Velayati, an international adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, has rejected Trump’s calls for renegotiating the JCPOA, stressing that the nuclear deal will remain unchanged.