Iran rejects negotiation on non-nuclear issues, calling European actions insufficient

Tabnak – As Iran and the European countries are discussing the ways to protect the nuclear deal and continue its implementation, Tehran warns that the European efforts in this regard are not yet enough. The Islamic Republic at the same time underlines that it won’t discuss anything other than the current deal with the other parties.

According to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the European Union's "political support" for a 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement is not enough, urging the bloc to take more practical steps to boost economic cooperation with Iran.

Zarif made the remarks in a meeting with the European Commissioner for Energy and Climate Miguel Arias Cañete and his accompanying delegation in Tehran on Sunday, a few weeks after US President Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"With the US exiting the JCPOA, public opinion's expectations from the European Union have increased to save the JCPOA's achievements," the top Iranian diplomat said. "The [European] Union must take more practical steps to continue its economic cooperation with Iran and boost its investment in Iran," Zarif added.

He emphasized that the 28-nation's commitment to implementing the nuclear accord was not consistent with the announcement of the possible withdrawal by major European companies from cooperating with Iran.

Meanwhile, Iran has rejected a report about a proposal for conclusion of a new agreement between Iran and major world powers, saying such baseless claims are fabricated by Zionist media and other international anarchists.

The Welt am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday cited an unnamed senior EU official as saying that the diplomats from Iran and the other parties of the deal, except the United States, would discuss a proposal for a new agreement between Iran and world powers that would be the same as the JCPOA but with some additions to appease the United States.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Sunday, "Such baseless news and claims are rooted in the think tanks of the Zionist media and other international anarchists as well as ill-wishers of the Iranian nation with the purpose of creating a negative atmosphere and diverting the course of dialogue between Iran and other sides in the JCPOA."

Qassemi emphasized that participants at the first session of the JCPOA joint commission without the US, which is scheduled to be convened upon Iran's proposal in the coming days, would "only discuss issues pertaining to the JCPOA."

Iran has said it would remain in the JCPOA for now, pending negotiations with the other signatories in the coming weeks before making a final decision on its future role in the agreement. Tehran wants the Europeans to give it clear-cut guarantees about fulfilling their obligations if it remains in the accord.