JCPOA alive because of Iran, E3 did ‘zilch’ to maintain deal: FM Zarif

Iran’s foreign minister says since its inception in July 2015, the three European signatories to the landmark nuclear deal with Iran have done nothing to protect it and it is only alive because of Iran’s efforts to maintain the accord.

Mohammad Javad Zarif’s remarks came in a Sunday tweet after three European signatories to the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), accused Iran of planning to produce uranium metal-based fuel has military implications and also after his French counterpart, Jean Yves Le Drian, claimed that Iran “is in the process of acquiring nuclear (weapons) capacity.”

In a statement on Saturday, the three European sides – the United Kingdom, Germany and France – claimed that Iran’s move to begin work on uranium metal-based fuel contravened the JCPOA, saying that under the deal, Iran had committed to not engaging in production of uranium metal or conducting research and development on uranium metallurgy for 15 years.