Trump withdrew from JCPOA in hopes of zero enrichment for Iran: Zarif

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), under the delusion that the measure would stop Tehran’s uranium enrichment activities.

Zarif, in a post published on his official Twitter page on Tuesday, highlighted that US National Security Adviser John Bolton and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier killed a deal with Iran with insistence on zero enrichment.

The Iranian foreign minister further noted that Tehran increased its enrichment by 100 fold since 2012.

Zarif concluded that Iran’s move to increase its uranium enrichment back then should serve as lesson to the world about how Tehran would chart its nuclear program.

The remarks came a day after Zarif said the United States cannot get a better agreement with Iran than the landmark nuclear agreement, reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries – the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China plus Germany – in July 2015.

PressTV-Official: Iran may return to pre-JCPOA conditions

A senior Iranian nuclear official say the country will return to the situation before the landmark 2015 nuclear deal unless European countries fulfill their obligations.

Spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Behrouz Kamalvandi said on July 8 that the country had surpassed the cap on uranium enrichment set by the nuclear deal.

Kamalvandi said at the time that Iran had exceeded the 3.67 percent limit and was enriching uranium at 4.5 percent.

He warned that Tehran would take further steps to reduce its commitments under the JCPOA. 

The move was meant to ensure Europe’s commitment to the terms of the nuclear agreement following a US withdrawal from the pact last year.

Moreover, Zarif highlighted that it requires committed determination from all sides of the JCPOA to save the nuclear deal. 

“Iran has implemented its part of the deal, and it is necessary for the rest of the world, particularly the EU three, to take actions. They have made very nice statements; but statements do not provide economic benefits for Iran,” he said.

The top diplomat underscored that he believes  the JCPOA is in the interests of the international community, including the United States. “It doesn’t matter whether the previous US administration negotiated this deal. This is a deal that was negotiated by the United States… The government of the United States should abide by its commitments." 

He went on to say that Trump is being advised by people, who are not interested in promoting peace, but interested in advancing a certain agenda that they have in their mind.

Zarif said the Middle East is currently suffering from numerous problems, emphasizing that the region does not need imaginary issues.

PressTV-Trump, Pompeo talk of ‘progress, deal’ with Iran

US President Donald Trump and his state secretary, Mike Pompeo, speak of “progress” and “deal” with Iran.

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