Senior MP: Europe Unable to Preserve N. Deal
Vice-Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mohammad Mehdi Boroumandi said Europeans lack the necessary power and will to safeguard the nuclear deal, stressing the need for Iran to take the next step to scale down more undertakings under the JCPOA.
“The Europeans have neither the will nor the needed power to keep the nuclear deal,” Boroumandi said on Saturday.
Given the fact that the Europeans have not yet made a practical measure to implement the nuclear deal, Iran should take the next step to modify its undertakings more powerfully than the before, he added.
Boroumandi said that the Europeans which did not remain loyal to the nuclear deal should account for the consequences of Iran’s modification of its undertakings.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi said last Tuesday that his country has devised plans and is getting ready for undertaking its next step of scaling down commitments under the nuclear deal of 2015, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“Iran has prepared the required plans for the fourth step of scaling back its JCPOA commitments,” Mousavi said, adding that the 4th step will most likely be undertaken as the European signatories of the agreement are unable to deliver on their promises without a prior permission issued by the US President Donald Trump.
“Europeans have not been successful to meet their JCPOA commitments and have tied all of their decisions and measure to Trump’s confirmation,” he said, adding, “Iran has its own plan and its own predictions and if the Europeans remain impotent, Iran will take the fourth step.”
Tehran has rowed back on its nuclear commitments three times in compliance with articles 26 and 36 of the 2015 deal.
Iran says its reciprocal measures will be reversible as soon as Europe finds practical ways to shield the Iranian economy from unilateral US sanctions which were imposed last year when President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iranian Government Spokesman Ali Rabiyee said last month that his country was determined to take the foruth step to modify its nuclear deal undertakings unless the Europeans do their obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“If the (Europeans’) undertakings are fully implemented, we will come close to what we had in the nuclear deal too. Our final goal is full implementation of the nuclear deal; we did not modify our undertakings to withdraw from the nuclear deal but they are aimed at bringing the other side back to compliance with their nuclear deal undertakings,” Rabiyee told reporters in a press conference in Tehran.
“Our move towards to the third step depends on the other side’s compliance with its undertakings and Tehran’s satisfaction with the Europeans’ fulfillment of their obligations,” he added.
Rabiyee warned that Iran will take a “strong” step if Europe fails to use the remaining opportunity to implement its Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) undertakings.
Washington withdrew from the internationally-endorsed 2015 nuclear deal with Iran on May 2018, reimposed the toughest-ever sanctions against the country and started a plan to zero down Tehran’s oil sales.
Under the nuclear agreement reached between Iran and six world powers in July 2015, Tehran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions.
The Iranian officials had earlier warned that the European Union’s failure in providing the needed ground for Tehran to enjoy the economic benefits of the nuclear deal would exhaust the country’s patience.
