JCPOA Parties Must Guarantee Iran Will be Compensated after US Exit: Zarif

The Iranian foreign minister has written a letter to his counterparts on the unlawful withdrawal of the US from the 2015 nuclear deal, saying that for the accord to stay alive, the remaining signatories need to guarantee that Iran will be “unconditionally” compensated with the return of American sanctions, according to Press TV.

Mohammad Javad Zarif published a copy of the letter on his Twitter account on Thursday, calling for action in the face of Washington’s “ever-expanding economic bullying,” which poses a threat to “not just the accord, but multilateralism and the rule of law.”

 The letter comes amid efforts by Tehran and its partners in the 2015 deal – France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China – to keep the agreement in place after US President Donald Trump announced last month that Washington was walking out and slapping the nuclear-related sanctions back on Iran.

The two sides are now seeking to devise a mechanism to both save the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — as the deal is formally called —  and help protect the Iranian interests that could be hurt when US sanctions fully take effect in November.

Tehran has urged the other signatories, the Europeans in particular, to give assurances that Iran would still be able to fully benefit from the JCPOA without the US, which has already begun throwing a wrench in Europe’s business deals with Iran.

 Zarif wrote, “If JCPOA is to survive, the remaining JCPOA Participants and other economic partners need to ensure that Iran is compensated unconditionally through appropriate national, regional and global measures.”

Iran’s ‘unquestionable right to reciprocate’

 “In line with Iran’s commitment to legality and the peaceful resolution of international disputes, the Islamic Republic of Iran has decided to resort to the JCPOA mechanism in good faith to find solutions and to determine whether and how the remaining JCPOA Participants and other economic partners can ensure the full benefits that the Iranian people are entitled to derive from this global diplomatic achievement,” he added.

Zarif further said the very terms of the JCPOA and UN Security Council Resolution 2231 – which endorsed the agreement—gives Tehran the “unquestionable” right to take “proper action” in the face of “numerous unlawful acts by the U.S., particularly its withdrawal from the agreement and its unilateral re-imposition of all sanctions.”

  “I should like to emphasize that the United States cannot be allowed to benefit from its unlawful withdrawal from the JCPOA, nor can it threaten or compel other States into violating a Security Council resolution,” the Iranian foreign minister pointed out.

Pompeo’s ‘absurd demands’

Elsewhere in the letter, Zarif blasted a policy statement delivered on 21 May by US Secretary of State Pompeo, in which he repeated a series of unfounded allegations against Iran and threatened the country with the “strongest sanctions in history” if it failed to fulfill Washington’s 12-point list of demands.

 “I am confident that your esteemed Government is fully aware of the falsehood of the allegations against my country and the illegality of the US Secretary of State’s demands,” Zarif wrote.

Zarif further said that Pompeo “openly threatened the rest of the world that any actor that does not cease dealing with Iran will be punished.”

Washington’s “terror support” allegations against Iran are a mere attempt to “revise history,” Zarif wrote.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has never invaded another country and has been on the forefront of helping its neighbors – upon their requests – to fight extremist terrorists that are armed and financed by the US and its regional clients, he added.

Experts from Iran deal parties hold talks in Tehran

Experts from the six remaining signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement have gathered in Tehran for their second meeting since the United States chose to unilaterally leave the multilateral accord.

Delegates from Iran and other parties to the deal – Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany – held discussions behind closed doors in Tehran on Thursday over the future of the now six-party agreement, officially named the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). European Union experts were also taking part in the negotiations.

The latest session of the JCPOA’s Joint Commission had taken place on May 25, weeks after US President Donald Trump announced Washington’s withdrawal from the deal and said nuclear-related sanctions would be re-imposed on Tehran.

According to the ISNA news agency, the participants in Thursday’s talks sought to work out a mechanism to both go ahead with the deal’s implementation without the US and help Iran collect all the economic dividends of the JCPOA when the American bans return.

H.M