Iran to return to the pre-JCPOA conditions unless the Europeans take real steps

Tabnak – As the European foreign minister held a meeting today to discuss the ways to save the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran signals readiness to return to its previous nuclear activities should the Western parties fail to take practical steps for saving the deal.

The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says Tehran is planning to go back to the conditions preceding the landmark 2015 nuclear deal unless European signatories fulfill their obligations.

Behrouz Kamalvandi said on Monday that Tehran’s retaliatory decision to reduce some of its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is within the framework of the accord which says if one side fails to deliver on its commitments, the right is reserved for the other party to reconsider its obligations.

“If the Europeans and the United States do not fulfill their commitments, we will balance out their actions under the deal by reducing commitments and taking the conditions back to how they were four years ago,” he said.

He said the JCPOA was supposed to be an “exchange deal" but "what we were giving [within its framework] was way more than what we were getting in return.”

Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman says European signatories to the JCPOA must take practical steps to facilitate implementation of the agreement.

Abbas Moussavi made the remarks on Monday while reacting to a statement issued by the three European signatories to the JCPOA – the UK, France and Germany – a day earlier.

“What Iran expects from the European parties to the JCPOA is to take practical decisions and steps, in an effective and responsible manner, to facilitate its implementation,” the Iranian diplomat said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman stressed that voluntary measures that Tehran has so far taken in compliance with the historic deal are based on the Islamic Republic’s goodwill and rooted in reciprocal rights and obligations asserted in the JCPOA, therefore, Tehran’s living up to its commitments should not be viewed as a “one-way road.”

The remarks came on the same day that European foreign ministers met for talks on the Iran nuclear deal in Brussels, with Britain saying there was still room for diplomacy but warned that the "small window" to save the accord was closing.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who held phone talks with his American and Iranian counterparts over the weekend, however, said "the deal isn't dead yet.”

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also said that Europe had to remain united in trying to save the nuclear deal, calling on Tehran to reverse its decision not to comply with parts of the accord.