International community responsible for protecting JCPOA: Iranian diplomat

“The JCPOA is an achievement of international diplomacy and world countries are responsible for observing, implementing and protecting it,” said Abbas Araqchi, who was attending a joint press conference with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu in Beijing on Sunday.

The Iranian deputy foreign minister said the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 had endorsed the agreement, adding that the decision made by the United States, as a permanent member of the Council, to withdraw from the accord was a breach of the said resolution.

The US has not only pulled out of the JCPOA, but also exerted pressure on other signatories to withdraw, the Iranian diplomat said, adding that it was unacceptable for other countries to violate the Security Council’s resolutions.

“Nobody should question Iran’s measures to reduce its commitments under the JCPOA. The International Atomic Energy Agency, as the sole responsible authority in this field, has time and again confirmed Iran’s full compliance with the JCPOA and other nuclear-related issues,” Araqchi said.

“However, we welcome diplomatic efforts by the signatory parties, particularly China, to find an effective solution to end the JCPOA crisis since we believe saving the JCPOA would be a major multilateral diplomatic success,” Araqchi said.

In May 2018, US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the international deal, in defiance of global criticism, and later re-imposed the sanctions that had been lifted against Tehran as part of the agreement.

In response to the move, Tehran has so far rowed back on its nuclear commitments four times in compliance with Articles 26 and 36, but stressed that its retaliatory measures will be reversible as soon as Europe finds practical ways to shield the mutual trade from the sanctions.

Last month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang denounced Washington’s withdrawal and its maximum pressure policy against Tehran as a “wrong behavior” that constitutes the root cause of current tensions.

US ‘wrong behavior’ root cause of crisis over Iran nuclear deal: ChinaChina says the US withdrawal from Iran’s nuclear deal and its maximum pressure policy against Tehran are the root cause of tensions with the country.

“It is China’s consistent belief that the US unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA and maximum pressure campaign against Iran is the root cause of the current crisis. The US should quit such wrong behavior to make room for diplomatic efforts and create conditions for de-escalation,” Geng said.

China: US withdrawal from JCPOA, root cause of nuclear crisis

For his part, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu told reporters that in his country’s opinion, withdrawal of the Trump’s administration from the JCPOA was the root cause of the existing crisis surrounding Iran’s nuclear deal.

“The US withdrawal from the JCPOA and its maximum pressure policy on Iran are the root causes of the current Iran nuclear crisis,” Ma was quoted by Reuters as saying. He added, “The JCPOA is an important outcome of multilateral diplomacy endorsed by UN Security Council resolutions, and an important component of the international order based on the international law.”

The Chinese official also stated that the nuclear deal with Iran must be effectively maintained and protected.

“The Iranian side stressed that all measures taken to reduce compliance are reversible and will continue to be subject to the supervision and inspection of the International Atomic Energy Agency. China hopes that all participating parties of the JCPOA will exercise restraint and adhere to resolving differences within the framework of the JCPOA joint committee,” said Ma.

Ma stressed that China supports the IAEA in carrying out its supervision and inspection duties in an objective and impartial manner in the implementation of the JCPOA so as to fully and effectively implement the deal.

“All parties should safeguard Iran’s legitimate economic interests as a participant in the JCPOA… At the same time, the United States should lift sanctions against Iran and return to the right track of the implementation of the JCPOA,” Ma added.