“I believe, by triggering dispute mechanism, Europe has shown their weakness and lack of wisdom and that they cannot resist the US’ pressures,” Salehi said on Wednesday.

Britain, France, and Germany, collectively known as the E3, have formally triggered a dispute settlement mechanism featured in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran (JCPOA), a step that could lead to the restoration of UN sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The JCPOA lifted nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran by the UN and some other signatories of the deal, particularly the US.

The Islamic Republic, in return, voluntarily changed some aspects of its nuclear program. The agreement was later ratified in the form of Security Council 2231, which terminated previous UN resolutions against the Islamic Republic.

Bowing to Washington’s pressure, the three remaining European signatories failed to protect Tehran’s business interests under the deal after the US’s withdrawal and started to tow Washington’s sanction line.

Consequently, Iran began in May 2019 to gradually reduce its commitments under the JCPOA to both retaliate for Washington’s departure and prompt the European trio to respect their obligations towards Tehran.

The E3, however, refuted the argument that Iran is entitled to reduce compliance with the JCPOA.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned this week that Tehran will leave the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if EU takes Iran’s nuclear to UN Security Council.

“The European’s statement is in no way legal. If the Europeans take another step, Iran will consider leaving the NPT according to a letter by the Iranian president in May 2019,” Zarif said.

He added that “if the Europeans continue to play more political games, we will have many options.”

He made the remarks on Thursday in his meeting with High Representative of the European Union Josep Borrell in India on the sidelines of Raisina Dialogue.

While enumerating mistakes and impracticality of European countries involved in Iran’s nuclear talk [including France, UK, and Germany] with regards to lack of fulfilling their commitments under JCPOA, Zarif said, “the recent claim taken by Europeans’ officials in activating Dispute Resolution Mechanism (DRM) is rejected.”

Zarif met and held a talk with Josep Borrell for the first time since his appointment as EU foreign policy chief and congratulated his appointment and added, “The Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to establish close cooperation and collaboration with him in this regard.”

Iranian foreign minister also called on European countries involved in Iran’s nuclear deal to revise their behaviors with Iran and also Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

France, Britain, and Germany confirmed on Tuesday that they had triggered the dispute mechanism in the Iran nuclear deal, but said they were not joining the United States campaign to exert maximum pressure on Tehran.

“It is not an understatement to say that the recent tensions in Iraq and in the surrounding region have the potential to erase the hard-won progress of recent years, thereby affecting the lives of millions of people,” said Borrell at the European Parliament plenary debate on the situation in Iran and Iraq following recent escalations on Tuesday, according to official website of the European Union.

“This is also why I convened an extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council on Friday, coming back from Croatia sooner than expected, from which I received a strong mandate to carry out all necessary diplomatic efforts to contribute to the de-escalation in the region, support political dialogue and promote a political regional solution, these are the precise words of the conclusion of the Council,” he added.

“While it may appear as if – for the moment – the current situation will not escalate further, we – and I personally – have since the very beginning of this crisis been active in urging calm, restraint and de-escalation to all of the relevant parties inside and outside the region: from Iran to Iraq, to the UAE, to the United States, Turkey, Russia, China, and others. We want to ensure that everyone with influence uses that influence to good effect and that we reach a temporary calm,” EU Foreign Policy Chief noted.

He went on to say, “Well, the current situation in Iraq, and the risk of further military escalation, could jeopardize the substantial achievements instability and in particular the fight against Daesh in recent years. The current situation could generate a number of dangerous consequences: the resumption of Da’esh would have a catastrophic humanitarian impact, possibly leading to a dramatic increase in the number of displaced persons.”

“The situation in Iran is also something that we continue to follow closely. We have had a number of tragic incidents; the Ukraine International Airlines plane crash on 8 January which killed all 176 on board, including a high number of EU citizens. Iran has now taken responsibility for this crash. As I said in my statement on 11 January, this was a deplorable tragedy, and once again, I want to extend my condolences to the victims’ families,” Borrell added.

“A failure to preserve the deal will only add tensions in the region. Imagine for a second what would be the situation today if Iran had nuclear weapons. And they would have been able to obtain those without the JCPOA,” he said.

EU Foreign Policy Chief mentioned, “Iran announced its fifth and – according to its own announcement – final step in the reduction of its nuclear commitments under the deal. This is a worrisome announcement, but it is important to see what the International Atomic Energy Agency reports on how Iran implements this step. As the Coordinator of the JCPOA, I have been in touch with all the participants on the diplomatic way forward, seeking to preserve unity in the group.”

Referring to the dispute resolution mechanism, he said, “As Coordinator of the Joint Commission, I will guarantee that the Dispute Resolution Mechanism provides an opportunity to address the issues indicated by France, Germany, and the UK. I will oversee this process, and I will be in touch with all the participants on the next steps.”

“I want to underline here that the Dispute Resolution Mechanism is first and foremost a process to resolve issues related to the deal implementation. The objective of the Dispute Resolution Mechanism will be therefore to find solutions and return to full compliance within the framework of this deal. It is not a matter of putting sanctions – as I saw some newspapers had been claiming this morning. All remaining participants in the agreement have been clear of their determination to preserve the JCPOA. This unity is crucial and I intend to work hard to preserve it,” he added.

France, Britain, and Germany confirmed on Tuesday that they had triggered the dispute mechanism in the Iran nuclear deal, but said they were not joining the United States campaign to exert maximum pressure on Tehran.

Possible activation of the JCPOA trigger mechanism may ruin the deal, said Ryabkov, Interfax reported on Wednesday.

He described E3’s decision to launch the JCPOA dispute resolution mechanism as politically erroneous, adding that the measure seriously decreases the chance of preserving JCPOA.

The remarks come as France, Britain, and Germany on Tuesday announced their decision to trigger the dispute mechanism in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Reacting to the development, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, said “In fact, the European parties are announcing the beginning of process of settlement of disputes and activation of Article 36 of the JCPOA while the article has been referred to by the Islamic Republic of Iran long ago, and no new situation will be created.”

“However, should the Europeans –who have claimed in the statement that they have taken such measure with goodwill and with the purpose of saving the JCPOA- keep to the path of submissiveness to the US or intend to abuse the process of settlement of disputes in the JCPOA Joint Commission instead of trying to honor their commitments and making Iran benefit from the effects of removal of the sanctions in accordance with the Annex II of the JCPOA, they will have to prepare themselves to accept its consequences as well, about which they have been already reminded via appropriate channels,” the spokesman added.

According to Reuters, the diplomats said the decision was aimed at what they claimed to be a way to save the deal by discussing with Iran what it should do to reverse decisions it had made.

The aim was not to reimpose UN sanctions, the diplomats said.

Six European and Western diplomats said previously that Britain, France, and Germany had agreed in principle to begin the process but they would still wait to see how significant Iran’s steps were before taking a final decision, according to a report by Reuters.

The “dispute resolution mechanism,” is also known as the trigger mechanism and its activation can lead to the return of the UN sanctions against Iran.

The nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was a deal struck between Iran and the five permanent UN Security Council members — the United States, Russia, China, France, and the UK — as well as Germany and the European Union.

The treaty has come under increasing strain ever since President Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal from the deal in May 2018 and unleashed the “toughest ever” sanctions against Iran despite global criticism.

Earlier this week, the US president urged other signatories of the deal to pull out of what had remained of the JCPOA, promising to impose new economic sanctions on Tehran.

In response, Tehran has so far rowed back on its nuclear commitments five times but stressed that it will reverse its measures as soon as Europe finds practical ways to shield mutual trade from the US sanctions.