Iran Names Europe as Main Loser of Possible N. Deal Abrogation

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani warned the European states of losing prestige and interests in case Washington discards the 2015 nuclear deal, and stressed that Tehran is entitled to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if it loses its interests due to the illegal behavior of the opposite side.

News ID: 69842

Date: 24 April 2018 - 13:42

TEHRAN (Defapress)-"We welcome the EU's efforts as one of the negotiating sides in the nuclear deal to maintain the international agreement and consider it as a professional move in defence of diplomacy and logic of talks but if the EU makes a strategic mistake, surrenders to the US excessive demands and crosses Iran's redlines, it will certainly be the main loser of this process," Shamkhani told reporters on Tuesday before leaving Tehran for Russia to participate in a security conference in Sochi.

He described the nuclear deal as an integrated agreement, stressing that any change, reform or attempt to drop some parts will lead it to collapse.

Asked if Iran withdraws from the NPT if the nuclear deal is discarded by the US, Shamkhani reiterated that all parties to the deal are entitled to withdraw if their interests are endangered.

"When international agreements lose efficiency due to the illegal attitude" of the opposite side, "then there will be no reason for other countries to stay loyal," he added.

His remarks came one day after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron's statement that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) had no alternative to replace, reiterating that the nuclear deal was not liable to change.

"President Macron is correct in saying there's no Plan B on JCPOA. It's either all or nothing," Zarif wrote on his Twitter account.

The Iranian foreign minister underlined that the European leaders should encourage US President Donald Trump not just to stay in the nuclear deal, but more importantly to begin implementing his part of the bargain in good faith.

On Sunday, it was reported that President Macron was urging President Trump to stick with the Iranian nuclear accord, arguing there's no "Plan B."

Macron told the broadcast "Fox News Sunday" that he thinks that "the 2015 deal curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions is imperfect. But the French leader, who begins a state visit to Washington on Monday, asked, "What do you have as a better option?"

Trump has vowed to withdraw from the Iran deal by May 12 unless US and European negotiators agree to fix what he calls its serious flaws.

Message end