Bock added that some small Italian, German and French banks are also ready to take part in the mechanism to clear the barter trade.

INSTEX is a special-purpose vehicle established in January 2019 by France, Germany and the United Kingdom to facilitate non-dollar trade with Iran in a bid to bypass US sanctions.

So far, INSTEX has not become operational despite intense efforts on all sides.

The deputy caretaker for international affairs at Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA), Hesamoddin Hallaj, who was also present at the meeting, pointed to the France’s proposal of a $15 billion credit line for Iran, saying its necessary to implement the new bid as soon as possible.

He warned that if Europe fails to implement the mechanism faster, then Iranian businesses will be looking at eastern potentials.

According to him, the chamber of commerce is working on the goods that can be exchanged via barter as well as the Iranian companies that are prepared to take part in the process.

Bock welcomed the move, saying that Tehran Chamber of Commerce should later give the list to the Special Trade and Finance between Iran and the European Union (STFI), the Iranian counterpart to INSTEX.

Both sides agreed that companies and firms that want to join the channel need to be evaluated first.

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“If the Europeans do not take action to fulfill their commitments before Thursday, we will have the third step,” Zarif said.

He said that President Rouhani will announce the details of Iran’s third step to further reduce JCPOA commitments soon.

The top Iranian diplomat added that taking the third step would not mean the end of the negotiations, adding “as we also stated in the Supreme National Security Council”s statement, we will continue the negotiations and whenever the other side returns to fulfilling its obligations, then we also can stop the actions that we have taken under Article 6 [of the JCPOA].)

Heading a high-ranking politico-economic delegation, Zarif arrived in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka to hold high-level talks with senior officials of South Asian country. He will depart for Indonesia as the next stop of his several-nation Asian tour he started recently.

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The top diplomats met today to discuss international problems, including the situation surrounding the nuclear deal, the Syrian settlement, as well as the situation in the Persian Gulf, Yemen and Afghanistan.

Zarif, who had visited a number of regional, European and East Asian countries in the past two weeks, traveled to Moscow late Sunday in continuation of the Islamic Republic’s talks with partners to find solutions to preserve the JCPOA.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also departed Tehran for Paris on Monday to hold talks with French officials regarding the issue.

Iran warned on Monday the European signatories of the nuclear deal that it will not hesitate to take the third step in reducing its commitments under the agreement if they once again fail to meet its demands.

Frustrated with Europe’s lack of action, Iran announced earlier this year that it would cut back on its JCPOA commitments using the mechanisms defined in the deal if its demands are not met after a 60-day ultimatum that started in May.

As a first step, Iran increased its enriched uranium stockpile to beyond the 300 kilograms set by the JCPOA. Next, it announced that it had begun enriching uranium to purity rates beyond the JCPOA-limit of 3.76 percent.

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The second step that was taken by Iran regarding the reduction of commitments, showed Europe and the West that Iran is serious and they should feel that the next step will be taken in the same line.

Answering a question about seizure of Iranian oil tankers by UK and their lack of commitment under JCPOA, Boroujerdi mentioned that their duty is to fulfill their obligations in any case, adding that Iran gave them a deadline to fulfill their obligations and responsibilities; otherwise, we will take the next step, in return.

“Reduction of commitments is different from withdrawal from the JCPOA. It is a decision that, if adopted, will be certainly decided by the Supreme National Security Council,” said Boroujerdi.

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One year after US unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and introducing sanctions against Iran, Tehran announced that it is reducing its commitments to the deal to create a balance in the agreement. Iranian officials say that reducing commitments is legal and done according to paragraphs 26 and 36 of the deal. Iran says this process of reduction will continue every 60 days as long as other parties to the deal can safeguard Iran’s economic interests from damages of US illegal sanctions.

“Four years ago, we hadn’t any limitation [on the nuclear program], and if other parties to the JCPOA don’t abide by their commitments, we will certainly return to conditions prior to the deal,” added the MP.

Western countries’ ‘political play’ is unacceptable, Boroujerdi highlighted, noting that the JCPOA is a bilateral agreement, and Europeans should know that if they don’t honor their commitments, Iran will ‘decisively’ reduce its commitments under the deal.

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“They have called for an emergency meeting of Board of Governors, asking why Iran has abandoned some of its JCPOA commitments. This is a funny story that US is following and such measures are rare in the world’s political history,” he added.

Upon the US request, IAEA Board of Governors will hold a meeting today to discuss the latest status of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Iran says US request for a BoG session is a ‘sad irony’ as it was the United States who ruined the deal in the first place.

Americans say that Iran’s uranium enrichment is a bad measure but they don’t elaborate that why they do it themselves as the sole country in the world which has used nukes, Rouhani said.

“Does enrichment which leads to the construction of fuel for a power reactor, satisfies people’s needs for water desalination or electricity, leads to the production of radiopharmaceuticals for the treatment of illnesses, and has thousands of other peaceful applications bad for Iran and good for others?” he framed.

Iran has announced cuts to its JCPOA commitments after other signatories to the deal failed to comply with their obligations. Iran is asking other signatories to shield its economy from US unilateral sanctions which were imposed after Washington withdrew from the deal in 2018.

Tehran says all its current measures to reduce its JCPOA commitments are according to paragraphs 26 and 36 of the deal.

Warning to the UK

“I warn England that you are the initiator of insecurity in seas and you will later understand its repercussions,” Rouhani said elsewhere in his remarks referring to the illegal seizure of an oil tanker laden with Iranian oil by British forces on Thursday.

“The enemy is looking for creating insecurity in the region so it violated Iran’s airspace and of course, faced a firm response. And on the other hand, they seized Iranian oil tanker by a proxy which was a very wrong action.”

“English forces seized this vessel unjustly in Giblartar,” he said adding that the region is Spain’s territory and the UK is occupying there.

London claims that the tanker had been carrying Iranian oil to Syria, which is under European Union’s sanctions but Iran says first, the tanker was not headed to Syria, and second, Iran is not an EU member and also not subject to any European oil embargo.

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Iran’s level of uranium enrichment will no longer be 3.67 percent after this deadline, he highlighted, adding, “we will abandon this commitment and will increase the enrichment level to the level required.”

He went on to say that Tehran will restore Arak heavy water reactor to its original design, if European countries don’t comply with their commitments by July 7.

“Return to logic, the negotiating table, mutual understanding, respect for the law and the UN Security Council’s resolutions, and under these conditions we all will abide by the JCPOA. We will remain committed to the deal as long as the other parties live up to their commitments.”

Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions. However, Washington began re-imposing even stricter unilateral sanctions on Tehran since May last year.

On the first anniversary of the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, Iran announced that it would suspend the implementation of some of its commitments under the deal, announcing that it would stop exporting excess uranium and heavy water, setting a 60-day deadline for the five remaining parties to the deal to take practical measures towards ensuring its interests in the face of the American sanctions.

The International Atomic Energy Organization confirmed on Monday that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile exceeded the Nuclear Deal’s limits. Zarif tweeted on Monday that Iran has not violated the JCPOA. “We triggered & exhausted para 36 after US withdrawal. We gave E3+2 a few weeks while reserving our right. We finally took action after 60 weeks. As soon as E3 abide by their obligations, we’ll reverse.”

Iran says its countermeasures fit within its rights under paragraphs 26 and 36 of the nuclear deal, and that it will reverse the measures once its demands are met.

European signatories to the deal have established a special trade mechanism called INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) which they claim on Friday that it has become operational. The mechanism will initially cover trades of food, medicine and medical devices and to gradually include other areas.

Tehran says the channel is not sufficient and doesn’t meet the needs of the country which is faced with US sanctions. Iranian officials insist that EU should honor its JPCOA commitments in trading and banking sectors, and should provide the ground for Iran’s oil export.

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The fact is that the only reason for the crisis has been the departure of the United States from an international agreement. On the other hand, Donald Trump’s government has imposed sanctions against Iran, which has shown little commitment to international treaties. In such a situation, the White House must return to the nuclear deal in the direction of the exit from the swamp, and the United States must also lift its sanctions against Iran and offset the damage that has occurred in the last year. The Trump government should also apologize to the international community on leaving the BBC.

By announcing that Iran will begin keeping its excess uranium and heavy water, the Islamic Republic now sends a firm and clear message to the west, exactly one year after US president, Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from its nuclear deal with Iran.

At this point, it seems that Iran has made a wise decision. Over the last year, the European troika has not only done anything to revive the nuclear deal or bring any kind of benefit to the Iranian nation, but they have actually backed up US by developing new plans to undermine Iran’s “missile work”, and diminish its “power in the region” as well as its “nuclear technology”.

Finally, the US propaganda and political game about the Japanese Prime Minister’s visit to Iran (also pursued by some American media) is doomed to failure. Without a doubt, Washington has no choice but to respect international treaties. Whenever the White House delays, the cost of its failure will increase against Iran.

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Iran expects Europe to give a practical response, he said, adding that the European countries have accepted the fact that what US did has been against international law but they taken no effective step about regarding their commitments yet.

Referring to Iran’s recent announcement on reducing some obligations to the deal, the official said, Tehran has been fully complying with its commitments under the pact and this has been verified 14 times by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Iran revealed on Wednesday countermeasures to US’ withdrawal from the nuclear deal, giving the other remaining parties to the JCPOA a 60-day ultimatum to comply with their commitments, particularly those regarding Iran’s economic interests in the banking and energy sectors, before reducing further commitments to the agreement stage by stage.

Ghasghavi added that the 60-day ultimatum was announced to tell the European parties to accelerate the implementation of the financial mechanism they have pledged to implement to ditch US sanctions.

The next two months will be a good opportunity for the Europeans to fulfill Iran’s demands, he said.

In this way, they can prove their commitments to the previous agreements, he said.

Despite reducing the commitments, Iran says at any given time that its demands are met, it will resume complying with the suspended commitments, which have been made impossible to continue due to the US measures and sanctions.

The decision to suspend some obligations to the JCPOA follows Washington’s move to ramp up pressure against Iran, by re-imposing new sanctions, including restrictions on Iran’s low-level uranium enrichment, and ending the sanctions waivers for Iran’s major oil clients in an attempt to drive the country’s oil exports to zero.

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Asked about recent Iran’s possible announcement of reciprocal actions to US withdrawal from JCPOA, the lawmaker highlighted that “there is no longer any JCPOA in place for us to reduce the level of our commitments.”

“JCPOA is like an abandoned house covered in cobwebs in which Mr. Rouhani keeps staying like Miss Havisham,” he added.

The member of National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iranian Parliament noted that recent US measure to sanction part of Iran’s nuclear activity is a clear violation of JCPOA.

“In case after [Iran’s] withdrawal from JCPOA, the US still creates problems for Iran, pulling out of NPT should be put on the agenda of Supreme National Security Council,” Zonnour said.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is paying the price for putting JCPOA and NPT into effect, but earns nothing in return, so implementation of these two is not in Iran’s favor.”

He went on to say that the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iranian Parliament will hold a session next week to discuss JCPOA, new US sanctions, and Iran’s withdrawal from NPT.

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