Top Iranian, Russian Diplomats Discuss JCPOA in Moscow

Araqchi made the remarks in a four-hour meeting with Ryabkov in Moscow on Thursday, according to Russian media.

During the meeting, the Iranian diplomat referred to French President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative to save the nuclear agreement, and said Iran always welcomes any idea and initiative that can contribute to the peaceful resolution of the crisis.

However, he added, “such initiatives are acceptable only if they are balanced and realistic and serve Iran’s interests under the JCPOA.”

“If Iran’s demands are not met, the Islamic Republic will continue to reduce its JCPOA commitments based on its right enshrined in Article 36 of the accord, and no one should doubt Iran’s resolve to do that,” he said.

Araqchi stressed that the path for diplomacy is still open.

“However, this path is getting narrower and more impassable every day, and the countries remaining in the JCPOA should know they have little time, if they are serious about maintaining the deal,” he warned.

The Russian diplomat, for his part, blasted Washington’s withdrawal from the multilateral agreement, and described it as a stark violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

“Russia supports the JCPOA as a great achievement of multilateralism and will keep in touch with other JCPOA parties in order to save the deal,” Ryabkov noted.

In May 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the JCPOA.

Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the JCPOA after the US withdrawal, but the three EU parties to the deal (France, Britain, and Germany) have failed to ensure Iran’s economic interests.

The EU’s inaction forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments to the nuclear deal, including a rise in the stockpile of enriched uranium.

Iran maintains that the new measures are not designed to harm the JCPOA but to save the accord by creating a balance in the commitments.