Zarif derides White House for bizarre anti-Iran statement

TEHRAN (defapress) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif posted a one-word tweet on Tuesday in response to the White House’s statement on Iran's nuclear program.

News ID: 77940

Date: 02 July 2019 - 10:59

“Seriously?” Zarif asked, while posting the strange White House statement which reads, “There is little doubt that even before the deal’s existence, Iran was violating its term.”

This is while Washington was the first party which violated the UNSC-endorsed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by withdrawing from it in May 2018 and imposing sanctions against Tehran. The International Atomic Energy Agency had confirmed Iran’s compliance with the deal in 15 consecutive reports.

On Monday, IAEA confirmed that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile exceeded the Nuclear Deal’s limits.

Tehran says its decision to reduce commitments to the deal is its inherent rights under the agreement, citing paragraphs 26 and 36 of the JCPOA.

Zarif tweeted on Monday that Iran has not violated the JCPOA. “We triggered & exhausted para 36 after US withdrawal. We gave E3+2 a few weeks while reserving our right. We finally took action after 60 weeks. As soon as E3 abide by their obligations, we'll reverse.”

On May 8, exactly a year after the US pulled out from the JCPOA, Iran revealed countermeasures to US’ withdrawal, giving the other remaining parties to the JCPOA 60 days to comply with their commitments, particularly those regarding Iran’s economic interests in the banking and energy sectors, before reducing portions of its own commitments to the agreement stage by stage.

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