French Diplomats:

Scrapping Nuclear Deal with Iran Tantamount to End of NPT

TEHRAN (defapress) – French government officials believe that undermining or scrapping the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers by the US would signal the beginning of the end of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which entered into force in 1970.

News ID: 65974

Date: 18 September 2017 - 16:18

Iran is respecting the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), the officials said, Reuters reported on Monday.

If the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which ensures its implementation, says otherwise, a mechanism exists to re-impose sanctions, they added.

French President Emmanuel Macron will warn his US counterpart Donald Trump that weakening or scrapping the deal would not only add fuel to a regional powder keg but deter North Korea from negotiating on its nuclear program, the diplomats said.

It would also signal the beginning of the end of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which is aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, they further said.

"We can always find legal arrangements to make it look like the deal is still in place, but if the US no longer supports it politically, then the reality is that it will be in serious jeopardy and its implementation will be very difficult,” said a senior French diplomat.

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 the Islamic Republic’s compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA, but some other parties, especially the US, have failed to live up to their undertakings.