Iran Says Nuclear Deal “Absolutely Not Renegotiable”

The Iranian nuclear deal that Tehran and the world powers signed in 2015 and that led to the lifting of restrictions on Iran’s crude oil exports is “absolutely not renegotiable”, a senior Iranian lawmaker told the local Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Friday.

Valiollah Nanvakenari, a member of the national security and foreign policy committee at Iran’s Parliament, called upon all parties in the nuclear deal to stay committed to the agreement instead of trying to renegotiate it, IRNA reports.

The deal that lifted some of the international sanctions on Iran—including those on its crude oil exports to the global market—was signed by Tehran and the U.S., the UK, Russia, France, China, and Germany.

The UN Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have confirmed that Iran complies with its obligations under the deal, the Iranian lawmaker told IRNA.

Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump—who must waive sanctions on Iran every three months as per authority given to the U.S. President by U.S. law—waived the application of nuclear sanctions, but warned that this could be the last such waiver.

“Today, I am waiving the application of certain nuclear sanctions, but only in order to secure our European allies’ agreement to fix the terrible flaws of the Iran nuclear deal. This is a last chance. In the absence of such an agreement, the United States will not again waive sanctions in order to stay in the Iran nuclear deal. And if at any time I judge that such an agreement is not within reach, I will withdraw from the deal immediately,” President Trump said.

The oil market had been apprehensive of the U.S. President’s decision, and many analysts had expected him not to waive the sanctions. The heightened U.S.-Iran tension in recent months and the possibility of more sanctions on Iran has been one of the primary geopolitical concerns that returned to influence a tighter oil market and push oil prices up.