Iran to Go Beyond Withdrawal from JCPOA If Demands Not Met: SNSC
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The spokesman for Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said the country will withdraw from the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and even go beyond that if other parties to the deal fail to meet Tehran’s demands.
“Iran’s new decision, which has been made using the capacity of Articles 26 and 36 of the same deal, is the continuation of the path of diplomacy for returning the offending sides to the train of JCPOA commitments,” Keyvan Khosravi told the Iran Front Page (IFP).
“Following the SNSC’s decision, the path (to withdrawal) will be pursued nonstop and stage by stage,” he noted.
Khosravi stressed that Iran’s decision can lead to two major results, but the extent to which they are achieved depends on how much the addressees of the decision correct their behaviors.
“If the offending sides resume implementing what they had undertaken in the JCPOA and respect Iran’s legal rights, Iran will resume implementing its own JCPOA commitments, as it used to do in the past.”
“In any other situation, where Iran’s legal rights are not secured, Tehran would treat the step-by-step path devised by the SNSC’s new decision, and will go on until full withdrawal from the JCPOA and even beyond that if necessary,” Khosravi stated.
Whether the game would be a win-win or a lose-lose one depends on how the ball of JCPOA – which is now in the other side’s court – will move, he said.
“Diplomacy is the battle of wills for achieving maximum benefits. Nuclear talks were a path in diplomacy for achieving balanced interests based on win-win rule.”
“Although the JCPOA was supposed to help realize this goal, the US and Europe turned it into a failure and created a situation where it was totally harmful to remain in the deal. The US did so by pulling out of the international deal and Europe by moving along with the US’ illegal behavior and killing time, which sounded like deceit. Naturally, Iran’s new decision directly addresses the US government and then the European countries who are directly responsible for the current unwanted situation,” he added.
The SNSC issued a statement on Wednesday, saying the country is no longer fulfilling some of its obligations under the JCPOA, and setting a two-month deadline for the remaining parties to fulfill their undertakings.
“At the current stage, we are not committed to complying with restrictions on the keeping enriched uranium reserves and heavy water supplies,” the SNSC stated.
The statement came a few days after the US administration renewed five of seven sanctions waivers that allow Russia and European nations to conduct civilian nuclear cooperation with Iran but revoked the other two as part of its pressure campaign against Tehran.
On May 3, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo extended the waivers for 90 days, shorter than the 180 days that had been granted in the past.
The waivers permit work at several Iranian nuclear sites to continue without US penalties. Under the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, Russia and several European nations help maintain the facilities.
Washington also stopped issuing waivers to buy Iranian crude oil on May 2.
Before the US moves, Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, had warned against their consequences.
On May 8, 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the JCPOA.
Following the US withdrawal, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.
The European Union has vowed to counter Trump’s renewed sanctions on Iran, including by means of a new law to shield European companies from punitive measures, but it has so far failed to do anything beyond making statements.
