TEHRAN — Iran’s foreign ministry has described as “unconstructive” and “regrettable” a joint statement issued by Germany, France and Britain about negotiations aimed at reviving a 2015 nuclear deal.
“It is surprising and regrettable that, in a situation where diplomatic interactions and exchanges of messages are continuing… to finalize the negotiations,” the three European parties would issue such an “unconstructive” statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said.
The remarks came after the trio of nations raised “serious doubts” about Iran’s sincerity in seeking a revived nuclear agreement and claimed that the Islamic Republic’s position was jeopardizing the prospects of reaching a deal.
“The three European countries are advised to play a more active role to provide a solution to end the few remaining disagreements instead of entering the phase of destroying the diplomatic process,” Kanaani said.
Iran has demanded that the International Atomic Energy Agency close its investigation into several nuclear sites, for which the Islamic Republic has provided answers in the past.
Kanaani said it was “regrettable that the three European countries have taken a step in the path of the Zionist regime to defeat the negotiations with this ill-considered statement”.
“If such an approach continues, they must also accept responsibility for its results,” he said.
The 2015 agreement, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA, gave Iran sanctions relief in return for restricting its nuclear program.
But in 2018, then-US president Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal and began reimposing biting sanctions, prompting Tehran to roll back on its compliance with the agreement.
The negotiations in Vienna since April 2021 have aimed to restore the deal by lifting the sanctions on Tehran once again.
Last month, the European Union, which acts as the mediator of the talks, put forward a “final” draft of the agreement.
Iran and the U.S. then took turns to respond to the text, with Washington saying on Friday that Iran’s latest reply was a step “backwards”. Tehran wants assurances that the next U.S. government would not abandon the agreement.
Kanaani said Saturday that “threats and sanctions” would not “prevent the Iranian people from pursuing their rights and securing their interests”.
An advisor to the Iranian negotiating team described the U.S. government and the three countries as “untrustworthy”, stating that Tehran pursues an agreement that best secures its national interests.
Muhammad Marandi said Iran was not the party that withdrew from the 2015 deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), adding the E3 obediently follows the policies of whoever is in the White House.
Marandi said Iran cannot trust the Americans and Europeans, adding the three European countries are all allies of the United States.
“They are not neutral, and we should not be deceived by their propaganda.”
Marandi also took a swipe at Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi, stating that he “stands with Europeans and Americans, and is submissive to them”.
Russia’s Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov described the latest statement issued by three major European powers about Iran as “very untimely”.
“Very untimely indeed. Right at a critical moment at the #ViennaTalks and on the eve of the session of the #IAEA Board of Governors,” Ulyanov, who also leads the Russian delegation at the Vienna talks on Iran nuclear deal, wrote in a tweet.