Iran’s President: Europe Standing Up for JCPOA
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani highlighted Europe’s support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) following the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, saying European countries have chosen to keep working with Iran rather than giving in to US demands.
While the US has walked away from the Iran nuclear deal and has put pressure on Europe to make a choice between working with Washington or Iran, the Europeans have opted for the JCPOA, Rouhani said in a gathering of Iranian clerics in Tehran on Saturday evening.
“Today, we are in a situation that the president of France, during a visit to Russia and in a meeting with the president of that country (Putin), announces at a joint conference that they (France) support the JCPOA,” Rouhani added.
“Today, most countries believe and say that Iran’s path is correct, and that it is the US that has made a mistake,” the president said, describing it as a “major success” for Tehran.
He further reiterated that Iran tries to maintain the nuclear deal, provided that its benefits are secured.
On May 8, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties have launched talks to save the accord.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has underlined that any decision to keep the JCPOA running without the US should be conditional on “practical guarantees” from the three European parties to the deal.
In comments on May 23, Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that Europeans must protect Iranian oil sales from the US pressure and continue buying Iranian crude, and must promise they would not seek new negotiations on Iran's missile program and regional activities.
“European banks should safeguard trade with the Islamic Republic. We do not want to start a fight with these three countries (France, Germany and Britain), but based on their past records, we don't trust them either,” the Leader said.
