“Europe has limited time to preserve JCPOA”
“Europe has limited time to preserve JCPOA”

 Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has told his French counterpart that Iran’s benefits in the JCPOA must be guaranteed, adding Europe has little time to preserve the deal. According to the official website of Iran’s presidency, during the phone talk which took place on Wednesday evening, Iran’s president described the United States’ repeated breaches of the JCPOA […]

 Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has told his French counterpart that Iran’s benefits in the JCPOA must be guaranteed, adding Europe has little time to preserve the deal.

According to the official website of Iran’s presidency, during the phone talk which took place on Wednesday evening, Iran’s president described the United States’ repeated breaches of the JCPOA provisions as a historic humiliation for the US administration and said “in the current situation, Europe has a very limited time to save the JCPOA and must determine and announce its clear, firm stances on its obligations in the deal.”

Rouhani also told France’s Emmanuel Macron  “JCPOA was reached following long, continuous attempts from 2003 to 2015, and because of the Security Council endorsing it, it is an international agreement.”

Denouncing Trump’s move to withdraw from the JCPOA, the Iranian president said “the Islamic Republic of Iran is fully committed to its obligations in the JCPOA and will pursue its interests as it has so far, but unfortunately, the other side has not demonstrated a satisfactory performance.”

“Despite Trump’s daydreams, enrichment in Iran has never been aimed at achieving nuclear weapons, but rather a scientific and technical attempt to promote national pride and meeting the needs of the Iranian nation.”

Stating that the decisions of foreign companies investing in Iran must clearly be announced, he added “if we reach a clear decision on the JCPOA within a limited time, we can witness broader interaction between Iran and Europe.”

Rouhani continued “consultation and cooperation between Iran and France will continue to  ensure common interests and security and stability in the region.”

“Today, we have a historic responsibility to maintain the JCPOA and future will prove that Trump has made a grave mistake,” he said, adding “unfortunately, Europe lost the 4-month opportunity it had to save the deal and spent it for persuading the new US administration to stay in the JCPOA”.

In the phone call, the President of France Emmanuel Macron expressed regret over Trump’s decision to withdraw from the deal and said “European countries have announced their objection to this decision collectively.”

He also emphasised that the framework of the JCPOA must be maintained and all parties must live up to their commitments, saying “Europe will cohesively attempt to maintain the JCPOA.”

“Broad cooperation between Iran and Europe is very important for promoting peace and security in the region.”