Iran could “think about other options” if the U.S. sanctions imposed after the withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) threaten the rights of the nation, the Iranian ambassador to China said on Monday.
On May 8, U.S. President Donald Trump announced Washington would no longer be party to the 2015 deal that allowed for the lifting of international sanctions off Iran in exchange for Tehran keeping its nuclear program peaceful.
Trump also announced that he would re-impose U.S. sanctions on Iran.
“We expect other remaining members of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, including China, to help implement and continue this deal, and fulfill their commitment and obligations according to this deal.
“If we could gain these rights and benefits from this deal we will stay in it.
“If these Iranian rights were not satisfied, and our interests were not reached, we will think about other options,’’ Ali Asghar Khaji said without disclosing the details of these options.
The ambassador added, citing diplomatic efforts of other parties to the nuclear deal that he believed in continuation of the JCPOA by other states without Washington.
Other JCPOA parties, namely the EU, China, Germany, France, Iran, Russia, and the UK criticised the decision of Washington and started taking steps to implement the deal.
During the Sunday talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU Commissioner for Energy and Climate Miguel Arias Canete, the EU expressed readiness to preserve the accord and to assist European companies in maintaining their cooperation with Tehran.
Under the agreement, Iran agreed to eliminate its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium, cut its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98 per cent, and reduce by about two-thirds the number of its gas centrifuges for 13 years.
For the next 15 years, Iran will only enrich uranium up to 3.67 per cent Iran also agreed not to build any new heavy-water facilities for the same period of time.
Uranium-enrichment activities will be limited to a single facility using first-generation centrifuges for 10 years.
Other facilities will be converted to avoid proliferation risks.
To monitor and verify Iran’s compliance with the agreement, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will have regular access to all Iranian nuclear facilities.
The agreement provides that in return for verifiably abiding by its commitments, Iran will receive relief from U.S., European Union, and United Nations Security Council nuclear-related economic sanctions.
On Oct. 13, 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would not make the certification provided for under U.S. domestic law, but stopped short of terminating the deal.
IAEA inspectors spend 3,000 calendar days per year in Iran, installing tamper-proof seals and collecting surveillance camera photos, measurement data and documents for further analysis. (Sputnik/NAN)
