Iran: JCPOA revival possible if US, E3 serious about commitments

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says it is possible to reach a good agreement on the revival of the landmark 2015 Iran deal through Vienna talks.

The top Iranian diplomat said an agreement can be reached if the United States and the European signatories to the agreement are serious about returning to full compliance with their commitments as per the accord.

Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a Monday joint presser with his Irish counterpart, Simon Coveney, in Tehran, which took place following a meeting between the two foreign ministers earlier in the day.

Reflecting on the ongoing talks in the Austrian capital for the revival of the Iran deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran’s top diplomat said, “We are ready to reach a good agreement and do not welcome the Western side’s behavior, which is based on performing shows in the negotiations.”

“Instead of behaving [on the basis of] creating shock, instead of tampering with the text and instead of playing for time, the Western parties must demonstrate their true intention for returning to their full commitments under the JCPOA,” Amir-Abdollahian said.

“We believe that if the American side and the three European countries [that are signatories to the JCPOA] are serious about returning to the full implementation of their commitments as per the JCPOA, achieving a good agreement will be possible in short term.”

Former US president Donald Trump unilaterally left the JCPOA in May 2018 and re-imposed the anti-Iran sanctions that the deal had lifted. He also placed additional sanctions on Iran under other pretexts not related to the nuclear case as part of his “maximum pressure” campaign.

In May 2019, following a year of strategic patience, Iran decided to let go of some of the restrictions on its nuclear energy program, resorting to its legal rights under the JCPOA, which grants a party the right to suspend its contractual commitments in case of a non-performance by the other side.

The US administration of President Joe Biden says it is willing to compensate for Trump’s mistake and rejoin the deal, but it has retained the sanctions as leverage.

Envoys from Iran and the P4+1 group of countries — Britain, France, Russia, and China plus Germany — have been holding negotiations in the Austrian capital for 10 months in a bid to resurrect the JCPOA.

002