News / Nuclear Energy

JCPOA was triumph of diplomacy over coercion: Iran's Zarif

Thursday, 14 July 2016 8:52 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 14 July 2016 9:54 PM ]

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif ©AFP

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has hailed the landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries as the “triumph of diplomacy over coercion.”

The top Iranian diplomat, however, warned in tweets posted on his official Twitter account on Thursday the United States over violating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), highlighting that “old methods produce same old failures.”

Zarif went on to say that "progress will remain elusive as long as short-sighted bragging, lackluster implementation of obligations and tired slogans are preferred."

The Iranian foreign minister further noted that mutual respect together with fulfillment of commitments under the JCPOA will ensure promised dividends and open up new horizons.

Zarif's remarks on the first anniversary of the nuclear agreement came a day after President Hassan Rouhani said the JCPOA “is beneficial to all countries, and to global peace, security, stability, and development, and its violation will be to everyone’s detriment.”

“Anyone that initiates the violation of the deal will be the loser on the international arena,” he added.

Rouhani stressed that Iran will remain committed to the accord but will also be able to quickly return the nuclear program to any desired level if the agreement is violated.

*Senior officials of Iran and the P5+1 group pose for a picture at the United Nations building in Vienna, Austria, on July 14, 2015, after signing a landmark nuclear deal. ©AFP*

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia — plus Germany finalized the text of the JCPOA in Vienna, Austria, on July 14, 2015. They started implementing the agreement on January 16.

Under the deal, all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran by the European Union, the Security Council and the US would be lifted. Iran has, in return, put some limitations on its nuclear activities.

However, many large European banks still refrain from engaging in transactions with Iran for fear of US penalties.

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