JCPOA Fate Hinges on EU

In an address to the European Parliament on Wednesday, Majid Takht Ravanchi, deputy for political affairs at the Iranian president's office, outlined Iran’s policies on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the multilateral nuclear agreement from which the US withdrew in May.

Describing the JCPOA as a major international achievement, Takht Ravanchi called on all parties to the deal to honor their commitments as Iran does, saying the coming days would be of significance as the European Union should offer practical initiatives and solutions to ensure Iran’s interests.

The future of the JCPOA depends on the EU’s behavior, he said, expressing hope that practical guarantees for Iran would preserve the nuclear deal.

In late September, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi made it clear for Europeans that their proposed mechanism for neutralizing the US oil and banking sanctions against Iran must be fully or partly carried out until at most November 4, when a new round of US sanctions officially takes effect.

The European Union said on September 24 that its members would set up a payment system to allow oil companies and businesses to continue trading with Iran in a bid to evade sanctions after the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers.

The countries said in a statement that they were determined "to protect the freedom of their economic operators to pursue legitimate business with Iran."

With the United States and the dollar dominating so much of global trade, the statement said the new mechanism would "facilitate payments related to Iran's exports (including oil) and imports, which will assist and reassure economic operators pursuing legitimate business with Iran."

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