Iran threatens Europe with “partial or reduced implementation” of the nuclear deal

Tabnak – As the deadline is looming for the re-imposition of another round of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic, Iran is trying to push Europe toward speeding up the process of fining alternative ways for preserving the 2015 nuclear deal. Tehran now talks of increasing Uranium enrichment in case EU fails to save the deal.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the country could increase uranium enrichment should the European Union continue to act passively in the wake of the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

"The Europeans and the other signatories must act in order to compensate for the effects of the US sanctions," Zarif told the German news magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday.

"Oil and banks" are the litmus test, according to Zarif. He warned that Tehran might act if "the balance of give and take were destroyed." He said this, however, did not necessarily mean that Iran would for its part withdraw from the nuclear agreement. Partial or reduced implementation was another possibility, Zarif asserted.

The Europeans need to decide whether they are ready to let deeds follow their words, Zarif asserted further. The question is, according to the Iranian minister, whether Europe would submit to American demands.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Zarif rejected direct talks with US President Donald Trump. He said Iran would only think about talks with the United States if the US returned to the nuclear deal.

The US withdrew from the nuclear agreement in May and began re-imposing sanctions on Iran at the start of August, with further sanctions on the country's finance and energy sectors to follow on November 4. The EU has invariably opposed the US withdrawal, calling the deal a pillar of regional and international peace and security.

Tehran has tasked the European signatories - the UK, France and Germany - to make their continued commitments to the deal worthwhile by guaranteeing that the country continued to benefit from the economic rewards of the deal.

Meanwhile, it’s reported that Germany and its European partners are considering setting up a payment system with Iran that allows the continuation of business transactions with the Islamic Republic once US sanctions kick in, an economy ministry spokeswoman said.

“As you know, it is a central goal of the EU and the German government to ensure that the processing of transactions is secured,” the spokeswoman said during a regular government news conference on Friday, Reuters reported. “All options are being considered,” she added.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has underlined that any decision to keep the JCPOA running without the US should be conditional on “practical guarantees” from the Europeans.