Tabnak – As the two-month deadline announced by Iran for taking new measures on its nuclear program is approaching, other parties of the 2015 nuclear deal call for Iran’s restraint. Tehran, however, reiterates that more actions are expected if the Europeans do not live up to their JCPOA commitments.
President Hassan Rouhani says Iran’s decision last month to suspend some of its commitments under its multilateral nuclear agreement is Tehran's smallest possible reaction to the breaches committed by the other signatories to the accord.
Contrary to how some countries are trying to project Tehran’s decision, “what we did was Iran’s minimum measure [in the face of the breaches],” Rouhani said in Tehran on Wednesday, addressing a cabinet meeting.
Rouhani reminded that Iran’s measure fits within the Articles 26 and 36 of the nuclear deal. “The other party [to the deal], however, has not only refused to keep its commitments..., but also brought the JCPOA’s main spirit into question,” he added.
The chief executive defined the spirit of the agreement as “restoration of decent economic relationship between Iran and the world.” Rouhani again cautioned that the country would take further nuclear measures if its interests continue to be compromised despite what it is entitled to under the JCPOA.
However, all the retaliatory measures would be reversed if the other parties to the agreement live up to their contractual obligations, he added, and said, “This is Iran’s clear logic.”
Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says the country will not extend the 60-day deadline it has set for the remaining signatories to a 2015 nuclear deal to honor their commitments under the accord.
"Iran's two-month deadline to the remaining parties to the JCPOA cannot be extended," Behrouz Kamalvandi told Iran's ICANA news agency on Wednesday. He also noted that Iran has taken the second step to suspend some of its commitments under the JCPOA and would precisely follow its timetables in that regard.
"According the law that stipulates the appropriate and reciprocal measure of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran in implementing the JCPOA, our move depends on the way the other JCPOA parties honor their commitments," Kamalvandi said. "It will not be possible that we fulfill our obligations and they (the remaining JCPOA parties) practically do nothing."
On May 8, the first anniversary of Washington’s unilateral exit from the nuclear deal, Iran announced its decision to stop exporting excess uranium and heavy water for a 60-day period, during which the remaining sides would have to ensure that Iran is no more deprived of the economic benefits it was promised under the agreement.
Earlier this week, Iran announced that it will surpass the uranium stockpile limit set under the nuclear deal from June 27, adding, however, that there is still time for European countries to save the JCPOA.
