Rouhani Says ‘Vicious Triangle’ Trying to Wreck JCPOA

Last European Chance to Save Nuclear Deal

Date: 15 July 2020 - 22:10

News ID: ۸۰۶۹۳

TEHRAN (Dispatches) – President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday called on the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal to safeguard one of the main pillars of the JCPOA by terminating the UN arms embargo on Iran, warning that their obedience to the U.S. would deal a severe blow to multilateralism.
Rouhani said the remaining Group 4+1 signatories of the deal are faced with a test to save the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the nuclear agreement is officially called.
"The Group 4+1 must realize that today, it is not only a matter of Iran’s interests or Iran’s relations with them or Iran’s relations with regional countries. What matters today is the issue of saving international law, the issue of multilateralism, and the issue of the value of international agreements,” he told a cabinet session.
Rouhani blamed the deal’s current fragility as being a conspiracy by the "vicious triangle” - Saudi Arabia, the United States and the occupying regime of Israel - to provoke Iran to withdraw so they could blame Tehran for its failure.
The nuclear agreement, known as the JCPOA, was intended to enable Iran to have a civilian nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
The deal began to fray in 2018 as President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. and reimposed sanctions.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday urged the European parties to the deal to live up to their obligations under the agreement, stressing Tehran’s resolve to take "decisive” action against any "irresponsible behavior”.
"The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as an important achievement of multilateral diplomacy which has been strongly supported by the international community, is in serious danger on its fifth anniversary,” it said.
The ministry called on the international community to prevent the historic deal from becoming yet another victim of Washington’s "unilateral and unlawful” approach by ensuring "the balanced implementation” of the accord by all parties.
The statement highlighted that Washington and those following in its footsteps must exclusively accept the repercussions of their policies.
"The international, legal, technical, strategic and political capital of this agreement has been deeply eroded on its fifth anniversary, due to the destructive and illegal actions of the United States,” said the statement.
"The remaining Participants of the JCPOA are aware of this and by consensus are of the view that the root cause for the current situation is the continuing violations of UNSCR 2231 and the JCPOA, and ultimately the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from an agreement reached after years of hard multilateral negotiations,” it said, referring to the resolution that endorsed the agreement.
The U.S. government’s noncompliance with its obligations under the JCPOA and Resolution 2231, together with the other parties’ lack of seriousness in restoring the lost balance, have complicated the circumstances surrounding the deal, and have effectively prevented Iran from reaping the benefits of the JCPOA, including the removal of nuclear-related sanctions, it said.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry also warned the remaining signatories against involvement in US conspiracies, particularly attempts to destroy and weaken the UN’s arms embargo system.
It said while Iran is ready to implement all provisions of the deal, "it is determined to take decisive action against any exaggeration and irresponsible behavior.”
Tehran, the statement added, "strongly urges the E3 (France, Britain and Germany) to adhere to their commitments, and to preserve and fully implement the UN Security Council resolution instead of moving in the direction of the U.S. maximum pressure policy.”