In comments at a press conference on Monday, Abbas Mousavi said although hopefulness always exists, Iran is not pinning its hopes on Europe’s implementation of commitments under the JCPOA and the UN Security Council resolutions.
“The experience of the past 16 months has led us to the conclusion that there is no place for optimism, however, we always keep the window of diplomacy open,” he added.
The spokesman also said it’s a pity that France still needs to get permission from the US to fulfill its commitments. “We are still waiting for Europe’s measure to carry out its commitments. Our consultations are in progress. (US President Donald) Trump’s consent is not our concern.”
As regards the launch of a payment channel between Tehran and Moscow, known as the Russian SWIFT, Mousavi said the Islamic Republic seeks to employ “specific mechanisms” in trade with other nations as part of plans to ditch dollar and use local currencies.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, US, Britain, France, and Germany) on July 14, 2015, reached a conclusion over the text of the JCPOA.
The accord took effect in January 2016 and was supposed to terminate all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran all at once, but its implementation was hampered by the US policies and its eventual withdrawal from the deal.
On May 8, 2018, Trump pulled his country out of the nuclear accord.
Following the US withdrawal, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the deal.
However, the EU’s failure to ensure Iran’s economic interests forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments, including an unlimited rise in the stockpile of enriched uranium.