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Iran says not doing anything in breach of JCPOA
Press TV,
7 May, 2019
Iran says the countermeasures it has vowed to unveil Wednesday are all within the framework of the 2015 nuclear deal, and the country is not leaving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The remarks were made by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif upon his arrival in the Russian capital Moscow, where he plans to hold talks with his Russian counterpart on the Iran nuclear deal, among others.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday night, he said Iran’s “strategic patience” with the US’ violations of the nuclear accord during the past year is over.
“Unfortunately, the European Union and other members of the international community were not capable of standing up to the US’ pressures,” Zarif said.
Therefore, he added, Iran has decided to stop implementing some of the JCPOA commitments it used to fulfill voluntarily “for now”.
The Iranian top diplomat said the right to stop implementing commitments partially or in full in case of violation by other parties has been preserved for Iran in the JCPOA.
So Iran is not doing anything against JCPOA now; rather, it is acting totally within the framework of Articles 26 and 36 of the deal, Zarif noted.
He described the move as “an opportunity for other parties to the deal to take required measures, and not just issue statements.”
Zarif also noted that the decision has been passed by the Supreme National Security Council, and its details will be announced on Wednesday.
Iran said on Monday it seeks to unveil its countermeasures in response to the US’ 2018 withdraw from the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement signed between Tehran and six major world powers.
The plans will be announced on Wednesday, which marks the first anniversary of the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
US President Donald Trump withdrew Washington in May 2018 from the landmark Iran nuclear agreement, reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries -- the US, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany -- in July 2015. He also decided to re-impose unilateral sanctions against Tehran.
France threatens to re-impose bans
Sources at the French presidency said on Tuesday international sanctions could be re-imposed on Iran if it reneges on commitments under its nuclear deal.
A French presidential source said the European countries did not yet know precisely what steps Iran was now planning, but they could have to re-impose sanctions on Iran if those steps amount to reneging.
"We do not want Tehran to announce tomorrow actions that would violate the nuclear agreement, because in this case we Europeans would be obliged to re-impose sanctions as per the terms of the agreement," the source said.
"We sent messages to Tehran to say that we were determined to implement the agreement, that we really wanted them to stay in this agreement even though we took into account the complexity of the situation and passed on the same messages to our American allies."
A second French official later said that if Tehran failed to comply with the deal, the issue would be treated through a dispute mechanism under the accord itself, which could lead to the re-imposition of UN Security Council sanctions.
Letters to P4+1
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is expected to write letters to the countries still signed up to the deal – Britain, France and Germany as well as Russia and China – on Wednesday to give them details about plans to "diminish its commitments" under the deal, ISNA quoted a source as saying.
The letters would be handed over to the ambassadors of the five countries by Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi. A separate letter would also be written to EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is continuing attempts to sow discord between Iran and Iraq during a surprise visit to the Arab country.
The hawkish US politician made an unannounced visit to the capital Baghdad on Tuesday, to discuss "big energy deals that can disconnect them from Iranian energy."
Iraq's Electricity Minister Luay al-Khateeb says his country brushed aside US demands that Baghdad stop gas and power imports from neighboring Iran.
The former CIA chief further claimed that under President Donald Trump, the US cares about Iraq’s sovereignty.
“Generally this has been our position since the national security strategy came out in the beginning of the Trump administration," he told reporters before heading to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi. "I wanted to go to Baghdad to speak with the leadership there, to assure them that we stood ready to continue to ensure that Iraq is a sovereign, independent nation."
Pompeo added that his talks will also include "the security situation there, and the forces that we have in Iraq as well, ensure that we continue to support the Iraqi security forces, the ISF, and can train them, professionalize them, so that the new leadership there in Iraq can have security control inside of the country."
Pompeo’s visit comes days after White House national security adviser John Bolton said a carrier strike group and a bomber task force had been deployed to the region to confront what the Trump administration claims are "clear indications" of threats from Iran.
The US military said Tuesday that additional forces being sent to the Middle East will also include B-52 bombers.
According to US officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to Reuters, there will be four B-52s.
Iran to unveil countermeasures to US withdrawal from JCPOA
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif Zarif has chided Bolton’s way of “announcing” the deployment, which came only long after the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group departed Norfolk, Virginia, on April 1, for a “regularly scheduled deployment,” according to the US Navy’s website.
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