“It was the United States that left the deal,” Mohammad Javad Zarif told CNN’s, Fareed Zakaria. “It was the United States that violated the deal. It was the United States that punished any country that remained respectful and compliant with the deal. So it is for the United States to return to the deal, to implement its obligations.”

In an interview with Iranian media, Zarif added that JCPOA has been finalized due to Iran’s disagreement with some issues. Iran is a participant in the JCPOA, he said and expressed Iran’s positive outlook that the US would return to the deal.

The sides that violated the JCPOA have walked away from it and have not fulfilled the commitments are the United States and the Europeans, he stated.

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“As co-architects of the Iran deal, we must defend its core,” Sputnik quoted him as saying in an interview with the Hannoversche Allgemeine newspaper published on Saturday.

He said the JCPOA should not be sacrificed for the sake of U.S. domestic political expediency.

“The termination of the Iran agreement by the U.S. doesn’t benefit global peace,” he noted.

“The Middle East is on the cusp of great turmoil. And we are close,” he cautioned.

On May 8, President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the UN-endorsed nuclear agreement and plans to reimpose sanctions on Iran.

After the U.S. withdrawal, Iran wants assurances from the remaining parties, especially Europeans, that its interests are guaranteed or it will resume nuclear activities with a higher speed.

Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief, issued a statement on May 18, saying that the 28-nation bloc is united in preserving the international nuclear deal.

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“Europe, Russia, China, international traders should stand up and challenge the American decision in the United Nations and in the WTO. We have to stand up against it. It’s a question of principle. After World War II, we created a very positive empire of norms, and we should defend these norms and standards,” he told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Primakov Readings international forum in Moscow on Tuesday.

The former chancellor said that the Iran nuclear deal was a binding multilateral agreement, and Washington’s withdrawal constituted a violation of international norms.

Schuessel noted the act of imposing extra-territorial U.S. sanctions on companies or countries dealing with Iran violated international law.

“If we all stand up, it will have effects on the American politics, because America is not Trump. There [are] also the Senate, the Congress, the public opinion, non-governmental organizations, civil society, financial markets,” he said.

On May 8, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the UN-endorsed nuclear agreement and vowed to reimpose sanctions on Iran.

After the U.S. withdrawal, Iran wants assurances from the remaining parties, especially Europeans, that its interests are guaranteed or it will resume nuclear activities with a higher speed.

Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief, issued a statement on May 18, saying that the 28-nation bloc is united in preserving the international nuclear deal.

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“We told the Europeans that paying lip service is not enough,” Majid Takht-Ravanchi, the current deputy director of the presidential chief of staff for political affairs, said on Friday, ISNA reported.

Should the European countries fail to provide practical guarantees for the implementation of the JCPOA, Iran would take an alternative measure, he said, suggesting that leaving the historic pact, which was struck back in 2015 between Iran and six world powers, is on the table.

‘We won’t stay in nuclear at any condition’

“We will not stay in BARJAM (a Persian acronym for the JCPOA) in any conditions. This has been asserted by the Supreme Leader and the president as well, and the policy of the system is that the dignity of the Iranian nation is above all these things.”

Takht-Ravanchi, who was on Iran’s nuclear negotiating team with big powers, stressed that in the aftermath of the U.S. unilateral exit from the JCPOA, President Rouhani set a deadline of just a few weeks – not months – for talks with other signatories of the deal, warning, especially the European countries, against the protraction of the talks.

He said due to Iran’s full compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA, all sanctions and restrictions, including banking hurdles, must be lifted.

He added if Washington’s sanctions harm Iran’s oil sale, it would be a clear violation of the JCPOA which Tehran would deem unacceptable.

The diplomat further said the EU policymakers are trying to resurrect the “blocking statute” to resist U.S. sanctions and this shows their determination to support their firms, he stated.

“The reality, however, is that countries cannot force their private sector to have business interactions with other countries,” he added.

Takht-Ravanchi also said since assuming office, U.S. President Donald Trump has tried very hard to deter Iran from the benefits of the nuclear agreement.

“Following Trump’s action in exiting BARJAM, all countries, except for the Zionist regime and one or two others, took a stance against America… This demonstrates Washington’s isolation at international level, even among its close partners,” he explained.

‘Missile defense program is red line’

He also pointed to Iran’s missile program which was raised by European countries to persuade the U.S. government to stay in the deal, saying Iran has repeatedly said that its missile program is non-negotiable.

“Our position about the missile program is quite clear. It is our red line and it has directly related with our national security.”

“Our stance was clear from the beginning, we repeatedly announced that the contents of Barjam are clear and there’s no ambiguity in it,” he remarked.

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Reza Najafi said the new report, which is the 11th of its kind since the JCPOA came into force and the 10th quarterly report to the Board of Governors, reaffirmed that Iran’s nuclear activities are in full compliance with the deal.

On Thursday, the IAEA once again confirmed that Iran has been abiding by its commitments under the deal, also called the JCPOA, despite the U.S. withdrawal from it.

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