TEHRAN (Dispatches) – Iran’s foreign ministry has summoned France’s ambassador to Tehran over remarks made on Twitter by his colleague in Washington.
Ambassador Philippe Thiebaud was being asked Sunday to explain why the French ambassador to the U.S., Gerard Araud, had tweeted that "sanctions could be reimposed” on Iran once the 2015 nuclear deal expires after 10 years.
Araud said Saturday that because "Russia is providing enriched uranium” to Iran, Tehran shouldn’t need to be "massively enriching uranium after the JCPOA,” using the acronym for the nuclear deal signed with world powers, including France.
Iran’s foreign ministry has called Araud’s remarks "unacceptable” and in "open violation” of the nuclear deal.
Under the nuclear deal, Iran capped its uranium enrichment activities in return to ending sanctions.
On Sunday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said if Araud’s remarks France’s position they will be a major violation of the nuclear agreement.
"If tweets by @GerardAraud represent French position, we're facing a major violation of the object and purpose of the JCPOA and UNSCR 2231,” Araqchi said on his Twitter account.
"Needs immediate clarification by Paris, or we act accordingly,” he added.
Although Europe is insisting on keeping JCPOA alive, it has repeatedly raised tiff over the Islamic Republic's missile program, as well as Tehran's role in the Middle East.
As recently as last January France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Iran needed to address what he alleged as international concerns over its ballistic missile program, or risk new sanctions.
"We are ready, if the talks don't yield results, to apply sanctions firmly, and they know it," Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters January 25.
Furthermore, Britain, France and Germany accused Iran on April 4 of "developing missile technology in violation of UN resolution," and called for a full UN report in a letter delivered to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
The EU trio also claimed that Iran’s launch of a space vehicle and unveiling of two new ballistic missiles in February were part of a "trend of increased activity inconsistent" with UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which was adopted just after the signing of the 2015 nuclear agreement.
Resolution 2231 calls on Iran "not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons."
Iran denies having any such program and the International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly confirmed the peaceful nature of Tehran’s nuclear activities.
An American diplomat claimed on Thursday that the era of the U.S.-Europe dispute over the JCPOA was over.
U.S. Representative to the EU Gordon Sondland also said the EU's Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for trade with the Islamic Republic of Iran was nothing but a paper tiger."
"The SPVs are Europe's attempt to appease Iran by showing that they are still trying their very best to facilitate proper transfers of payments to Iran. We believe that those SPVs are really nothing more than, and I've said it before, a paper tiger," he said.
Initially dubbed the SPV, France, Germany and the UK ultimately set up INSTEX on January 31 following the U.S. withdrawal from the deal with Iran in 2018 to help Tehran with limited trade despite U.S. sanctions.
Iran has also set up its own parallel mechanism, the Special Trade, and Finance Institute (STFI). The two trade vehicles are planned to work in tandem, avoiding the use of the U.S. dollar and traditional banking transactions.
On Sunday, Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif complained that the EU was dragging its feet on bringing the non-dollar direct payment channel with Tehran into operation, saying the Europeans now have "no excuse" for further postponement of the project.
The Europeans introduced INSTEX as "a preliminary measure", Zarif said, adding they "lagging behind" in fulfilling their commitments. The EU "should not believe that the Islamic Republic will continue to wait for them," he added.
"I wonder how much time do the Europeans need to set up a preliminary mechanism?" he said.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has repeatedly called INSTEX a "meaningless" measure and "a bitter joke," adding that "Europeans should have stood up to the U.S. after it left the JCPOA and should have lifted all sanctions against Iran."
Dismissing the new EU initiative, Ayatollah Khamenei insisted that Europe has practically pulled out of the nuclear agreement with Iran and betrayed the Islamic Republic.