US Pullout from Iran Deal an American Scandal, Says Zarif

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the United States’ unilateral withdrawal from a multilateral nuclear deal with Iran has proven to be a “scandal” for America and shows how much the deal serves Iran’s interests.

At the Iranian Parliament to respond to questions from lawmakers on Monday, Foreign Minister Zarif said no deal would meet all of a negotiating party’s demands.

Still, he said, the Iran deal proved to have been negotiated “with such solidity” that the US pullout has become a “scandal” for America.

“Today, we can see, that, by the grace of God, the JCPOA was so much in favor of Iran’s interests that America withdrew from it scandalously,” Zarif said, using the official abbreviation for the Iran deal, which stands for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

 “If you follow the news from the entire world, you can see [a reflection of how] the US has had to walk back many of its claims,” the Iranian foreign minister said. “They (the Americans) made a lot of noise, saying they would bring Iran’s oil sales down to zero by today. [And yet,] they put out a statement giving six more months [to Iran’s oil clients].”

He said the US had aimed to create a consensus against Iran over the JCPOA, but the deal was so strong that they failed.

Iran struck the deal with originally six world powers – including the US under the former administration of President Barack Obama – and the European Union back in 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for the lifting of restrictions mainly on its oil sales.

In May, US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal. While he hoped for it to collapse, the deal continues to be implemented by all the other parties.

Europe, in particular, is working with Iran on a financial channel that would bypass the US financial system and pave the way for continued trade between the continent and Iran, including the purchase of oil.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said also on Monday that work on that mechanism, referred to as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), was going smoothly.

Speaking at a press briefing, Bahram Qassemi said SPV was a complex mechanism and it was being worked out with due care.

He said the outlines of the SPV would soon be announced. Earlier, he had said Iran and its partners would not reveal the details of the mechanism to avoid potential sabotage.

‘US wishes will not come true’

Referring to the implementation of the new US sanctions, Qassemi said the measures – all of them adopted unilaterally – were another sign of America’s isolation.

“These sanctions mark the advent of further American isolation…, since they are applied by America only and not by the (United Nations) Security Council and the entire world,” the spokesman said.

“America’s dreams are nothing that would come true, and these measures (the sanctions) are indicative of the US officials’ inadequate knowledge of regional and global matters,” he said elsewhere during the briefing.

Qassemi also noted that the era of American bullying and unilateralism was over.

“Sooner or later, we should expect a change in the US behavior. This country cannot reach its desired goals by isolating itself.”

Asian, European friends rally behind Iran after US re-imposes sanctions

In another development, Iran’s Asian friends as well as the Europeans have expressed their keenness to continue trade with Tehran after the US reinstated its “toughest sanctions ever” on the Islamic Republic Monday.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the Asian giant’s lawful trade cooperation with Iran should be respected and expressed regret that the US re-imposed sanctions on Tehran.

“China expresses regret at the US’ decision. We also noted that the international community is widely against unilateral sanctions and long arm tactics,” he told a daily news briefing in Beijing.

“China consistently rejects unilateral sanctions and long arm tactics. We think China and Iran carrying out normal cooperation under the framework of international law is lawful and reasonable, and (this right) should be respected and protected,” he added.

The European Union also said it is opposed to the US decision, under which the second batch of the sanctions targeting Iran’s oil and financial sanctions were put into effect.

“The European Union does not approve of it,” European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told franceinfo radio on Monday, hours after the sanctions were reinstalled.

According to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the sweeping sanctions will see 700 people blacklisted, including people who were granted relief under the 2015 nuclear deal, as well as over 300 new names in Iran’s oil, shipping, insurance and banking sectors.

Washington, however, had to go back on its pledge to zero Iran’s oil exports, allowing eight top customers of the country to continue purchases.

A South Korean government official said on Monday that his country had been granted an exemption after it called for “maximum flexibility” from Washington.

“Petrochemicals are key to our economy, and we stressed that if we’re hit by the Iran sanctions, it would pose grave challenges to our whole economy,” said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

South Korea was also granted an exemption from Washington to continue financial transactions with the sanctioned Iranian central bank to facilitate oil imports, according to the official.

Other countries exempted from the sanctions are Iran’s top oil customers, China and India, as well as Japan and Turkey.

Switzerland said on Monday it is holding talks with the US and Iran about launching a payment channel to help ensure food and drugs keep flowing to the Islamic Republic.

“Switzerland is committed to safeguarding Swiss economic interests and closely follows the development of the situation. The authorities are in direct contact with the competent authorities of the United States, the EU and Iran,” the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said.

“Particularly in the humanitarian field, the federal government is committed to ensuring that food and pharmaceutical products can continue to be supplied from Switzerland,” it said.

SECO said it was in touch with US authorities, Iran and unnamed Swiss companies on developing a humanitarian payment channel.

The Europeans are working to set up a special payment system that would bypass the US sanctions and discard the dollar in dealing with Iran.

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