Iran, UK Remain Widely Apart After Visit

Date: 24 June 2019 - 21:56

News ID: ۶۷۳۸۶

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has said Iran would not back down from its decision to scale back some of its commitments under 2015 nuclear deal with major powers.
"The European signatories of the deal lack the will to save the deal. Our decision to decrease our commitment to the deal is a national decision and it is irreversible as long as our demands are not met,” Araqchi said after meeting the British minister for the Middle East in Tehran.
Araqchi told Andrew Murrison here that the Europeans’ failure to fulfill their commitments under the Iran nuclear deal has left Tehran with no choice but to stop honoring its obligations.
Less than two weeks before Iran’s 60-day deadline for balancing the nuclear deal in accordance with Article 36 of the agreement, Murrison visited Tehran on Sunday to persuade the Islamic Republic not to scale back its cooperation.
"The UK is determined to bring the INSTEX financial channel into operation as soon as possible,” he said, referring to a virtual clearing house established by the Europeans to keep some channels of trade open to Iran.
Araqchi, however, touched on the Europeans’ foot-dragging and failure to operationalize the mechanism.
"Sadly, there is no balance between our obligations and rights under the JCPOA. Therefore, there remains no more reason for Iran to continue honoring the JCPOA,” he said, using the acronym for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
"We are convinced that Europe’s lack of commitment to its JCPOA undertakings was not because of incapability, but lack of determination,” Araqchi said.
"Europe is not ready to pay any cost for preserving the JCPOA. The European companies dare not to disobey the U.S. Treasury Department’s orders -- which means Europe’s lack of sovereignty, even inside its own borders.”
The deputy minister said, "The decision to scale down Iran’s commitments under the JCPOA is a national and irreversible decision, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will keep to this trend until its demands are met.”
Araqchi also criticized the UK government’s one-sided stances on the regional issues, including its baseless accusations against Iran after alleged attacks on oil tankers.
"It appears that the British government’s entanglement with the predicament of Brexit has prevented it from having a correct understanding of the global realities. Immature companionship with coercive American measures will result in nothing but an increase in the Iranians’ historical aversion to UK policies,” he said.
The two officials also discussed bilateral issues, including Britain’s financial debts to Iran. Pointing to the UK government’s debt to the Iranian nation unpaid for 40 years, Araqchi called for an immediate settlement of the debts, stressing that the UK government’s refusal to do so would not be acceptable with any justification.
Araqchi also denounced a sit-in outside the Iranian embassy in London by Richard Ratcliffe, the husband Iranian national Nazanin Zaghari who is held in jail for spying.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Judiciary will not be influenced by such acts of blackmail, and those convicted of espionage must serve their terms,” he said.
On Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi Mousavi said Zaghari will serve out her five-year prison sentence, dismissing a call for her release by the British minister visiting Tehran.
"Mrs Zaghari is an Iranian. She has been convicted on security charges and is spending her sentence in prison,” Mousavi said. "Iran does not recognize dual nationality,” he said.
He also criticized Murrison who said Iran almost certainly bears responsibility for recent attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
"What (Murrison) said after the meetings was not constructive. It seems Britain is siding with America due to its domestic problems and Brexit crisis,” Mousavi said.
Head of the Strategic Council of Foreign Relations Kamal Kharrazi expressed disappointment after meeting Murrison, saying the talks were "repetitive".
The British minister had the "usual talking points", Kharrazi said. These included saying a European payment mechanism to help Iran with US sanctions "will soon become operational, that Britain has always supported the JCPOA and has its own problems with America... such talks that have always been repetitive," he said.