Iran Warns over ‘Unpredictable’ Consequences of JCPOA Annulment

“If words are not turned into deeds, then … it is very ominous, the situation would be unpredictable,” Salehi told reporters on Monday on the sidelines of the third EU-Iran High-Level Seminar on ‘International Nuclear Cooperation’.

Earlier in the day, in a joint press conference with European Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete, Salehi said the JCPOA is perhaps the best nuclear agreement in the minds of the delegations which held marathon talks to clinch it.

He thanked Europeans for their attempts to preserve the Iran nuclear deal and said the Islamic Republic is hopeful that through mutual cooperation, the remaining signatories of the deal including Russia and China could preserve the accord after the US unilateral withdrawal back in May.

“Today the JCPOA is the only possible deal,” Salehi said, expressing hope that the international community would do its best to preserve it “because if the deal collapses, neither Iran, nor the European Union nor the international community will gain any achievement.”

The Iranian official also said the Iran nuclear deal is a supplement to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and added if the JCPOA fails, the situation will change and turmoil will prevail.

“The European Union has made hard attempts to preserve the Iran nuclear deal and I thank the Europeans for that. They have remained steadfast in this path and explicitly announced that they deem the deal significant for Europe’s security,” he noted.

Salehi expressed hope that the remaining signatories including Russia and China could keep the accord alive and added this is a battle in which all remaining sides should be the winner because “we can’t put up with being a loser.”

He said the political remarks by European as well as Chinese and Russian officials should be translated into reality; otherwise, the future prospect will remain unpredictable.