Iran to Reverse Recent Nuclear Measures if E3 Honors JCPOA: Zarif
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran would reverse its decision to increase the level of its low-enriched uranium production as soon as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom honor their commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
“We have NOT violated the #JCPOA. Para 36 of the accord illustrates why: We triggered & exhausted para 36 after US withdrawal. We gave E3+2 a few weeks while reserving our right. We finally took action after 60 weeks. As soon as E3 abide by their obligations, we'll reverse,” Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Monday.
It came after the top Iranian diplomat announced earlier in the day that the country’s enriched uranium stockpile had passed the 300-kilogram limit.
Shortly after Iran's announcement, an IAEA spokesman issued a statement, confirming Iran's report.
"We can confirm that IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano has informed the Board of Governors that the Agency verified on 1 July that Iran's total enriched uranium stockpile exceeded (the deal's limit)," the statement said.
In a follow-up tweet on Tuesday, Zarif rejected a White House accusation that Tehran was long violating the terms of the JCPOA.
“Seriously?” the Iranian minister said in his tweet after a statement by White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham that said, “There is little doubt that even before the deal’s existence, Iran was violating its terms.”
Tehran’s announcement drew a reaction from US President Donald Trump that Tehran was “playing with fire.”
Russia also reacted to the move by Tehran, saying that Iran’s surpassing the 300-kilogram limit on its low-enriched uranium production came only as a consequence of the United States’ moves to betray its commitments to the Islamic Republic.
"It should be understood as the natural consequence of the events, which have gone before," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Monday.
In May 2018, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, the nuclear deal that 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).
On the first anniversary of the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, Iran said that it would suspend the implementation of some of its commitments under the deal, announcing that it would stop exporting excess uranium and heavy water, setting a 60-day deadline for the five remaining parties to the deal to take practical measures towards ensuring its interests in the face of the American sanctions.
At a cabinet session on May 8, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the five remaining parties to the JCPOA -Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany- have been informed of Tehran’s decision to refuse to continue honoring two commitments under the deal.
He said Iran stops selling any enriched uranium above the 300-kg limit in exchange for yellow cake and also stops selling its heavy water above the limit of 130 tons.
