Araghchi: US visa waiver program clear violation of nuclear deal

Head of the Foreign Ministry Committee to Monitor the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Abbas Araghchi has underlined that the possible changes to the US Visa Waiver Program proposed by the Congress blatantly violate the nuclear agreement.

“Although it is not an important issue, it is aimed at harassment and is against the paragraphs 28 and 29 of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” Araghchi, also deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs said as he addressed an open session of parliament on Sunday.

Earlier he had warned of the country’s serious reaction to possible changes in the US Visa Waiver Program if they amounted to violation of the recent nuclear agreement between Tehran and six world powers.

“The US Congress’s approval has different legal aspects which are being studied and if they are against the contents of JCPOA, we will take action against it,” Araghchi, who presides over the Iranian committee monitoring the six powers’ compliance with their undertakings under the Vienna nuclear deal, told reporters in Tehran.

He said, “We are in consultation with P5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany), especially the EU (Foreign Policy) Coordinator (Federica Mogherini), to show the necessary reaction in this regard.”

[…]