JCPOA Not A Bilateral Deal; Iran to Show Timely Reaction to Possible Breach: Larijani
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani stressed that the nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers is a multilateral agreement and cannot be dismissed by one government.
“It should be taken into account that the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) is not a bilateral agreement but an international one. Six of the most important countries in the world, including China, played role in striking the accord,” Larijani said in an interview with China’s Phoenix news channel.
Iran's nuclear deal with world powers has been reflected in a United Nation Security Council resolution and cannot be reversed by one government, he added.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), reached the comprehensive nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in July 2015 and it was implemented in January 2016.
In a speech to the pro-Israeli lobby group AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) in March, US president-elect Donald Trump had declared that his "number-one priority” would be to "dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran.”
As regards a recent controversial decision by the US House of Representatives to pass a bill renewing sanctions on Iran for 10 years, the Iranian parliament speaker said it still needs to be endorsed by the Senate and the US president, but at the same time emphasized that Iran will wait for their decision and then react accordingly.
His comments came after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said Washington’s plans to renew sanctions against Iran would be a breach of the JCPOA, dismissing the notion that it will not be new sanctions but renewal of previous sanctions.
“There is no difference between starting a sanction and restarting it after it expires and the second one also constitutes a violation of previous commitments by the other party (to the JCPOA),” the Leader said on Sunday.
