Islam Times - Iran will cut more JCPOA Commitments if Europe fails to act

Islam Times - Iran’s Political Deputy at the Foreign Ministry Abbas Araghchi said that Iran is determined to take further steps towards reducing its nuclear commitments.

He continued that this will continue until Iran’s economic interests seen by the nuclear deal are realized.

The comments came at a meeting with Sweden’s State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Annika Söder who traveled to Tehran for the fifth round of Iran-Sweden political consultation.

During this round of talks held on Wednesday, the two sides discussed the most important international developments and issues in bilateral relations.

The Swedish diplomat expressed her country’s intention to continue the bilateral cooperation to solve the problems ahead.

She assured that Sweden supports the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as it guarantees security interests of Europe.

The Iranian official called the level of cooperation with the European country “acceptable”, adding that despite the American pullout, the Islamic Republic keeps the door open to diplomacy.

He, however, criticized the EU saying that the bloc only supported the deal politically without paying the costs to practically save it.

Iran already cut its commitments to the nuclear agreement in three steps in two-month intervals saying that it will do more if it remains deprived of the economic interests promised under the deal signed with six world powers.

Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018 and reinstated the sanctions suspended under the accord. His action triggered objections from the other signatories but Tehran argues that simple criticism should be replaced with actions to guarantee the Iranian interests.