‘Iran, EU to Go Ahead with Nuclear Deal without US’

Senior Iranian MP Yahya Kamalpour noted that since the European states have expressed their commitment to the JCPOA, Iran needs to prepare itself for remaining committed to a nuclear deal minus the US.

In a Farsi interview with ICANA, Kamalpour referred to the US president’s strange statements about the JCPOA which stand in stark contrast to the international law, and said Iran and the European Union must remain committed to a new version of the JCPOA minus the US.

He went on saying that the US and the EU are at loggerheads over their commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Kamalpour said the EU is against the US efforts to pull out of the JCPOA and this has left the two sides divided over the nuclear deal.

He referred to the US efforts to withdraw from the nuclear deal following its repeated breach of promises through imposing various sanctions on Iran and said with its unilateral pullout of the JCPOA, the US would violate an international agreement, paving the way for its own isolation across the world.

The lawmaker added that no country has ever accepted the US stances towards the JCPOA.

“All the involved states have remained faithful to their commitments under the JCPOA and this has left the US and the EU divided over the nuclear deal,” he noted.

The Iranian lawmaker referred to the recent statements by the EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini and said as the European official mentioned, the EU will remain committed to the nuclear deal with Iran even if the US decides to pull out of it.

He once again warned the US of international isolation if it violates the nuclear deal, and said Iran will not remain silent towards the US breach of the deal.

“Iran will adopt reciprocal measures against the US,” he said, adding there is no need to adopt a preemptive measure at this stage.

“We need to wait and see whether or not the US will pull out of the deal and then make an appropriate decision based on the US move,” he noted.

According to an earlier report by Foreign Policy, Trump is putting Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the US State Department on the sidelines when dealing with Iran on the JCPOA.

The move has reportedly come after a “contentious” meeting between Trump and Tillerson. According to the report, Trump told a group of staffers to find a “case” that he can use to justify a 90-day review of the deal.

His hope is that he can find evidence to declare Tehran is not in compliance with the agreement, something the State Department has failed to do, the Foreign Policy said.

“The president assigned White House staffers with the task of preparing for the possibility of decertification for the 90-day review period that ends in October — a task he had previously given to Secretary Tillerson and the State Department,” said one source close to the White House.