Foreign Policy

US Gets Low Grade in JCPOA Implementation: Iran FM

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the United States will likely receive a low grade for its commitment to implementation of last July’s nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries.

Zarif made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Iran’s IRIB News Agency on the occasion of the first anniversary of the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia – plus Germany on July 14, 2015.

“If we want to give a grade to the JCPOA, it will definitely get a very good score considering the time frame and international circumstances, but if we want to give a grade to the way that the Americans implemented [the agreement], they will probably receive a low score,” said Zarif, who headed Iran’s nuclear negotiating team in talks with the six countries.

He added that the JCPOA is a “very important achievement” for the Islamic Republic as it safeguarded the Iranian nation’s dignity on the international scale, recognized its rights, scrapped the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and prevented new sanctions against the country.

Iran and the six world powers started implementing the JCPOA on January 16.

Under the deal, all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran by the European Union, the Security Council and the US should be lifted. Iran has, in return, put some limitations on its nuclear activities.

Zarif emphasized that the JCPOA was “a very defensible document” which proved that nothing can be imposed on the Iranian nation through pressure.

He reasserted Iran’s continued implementation of its obligations under the JCPOA with seriousness and precision, and the country’s resolve to prevent the opposite side from failing to meet its own commitments.

Following the JCPOA implementation, many European banks started transacting with their Iranian counterparts, he said.

“However, a number of banks are still in fear of US regulations, but we believe that such fear is a psychological fear emanating from conservative nature of monetary and banking institutions and not from regulations which prevent cooperation with Iran,” the foreign minister pointed out.

He said Iran has focused its attention on making the best use of the opportunity created after the JCPOA implementation, but the country will always remember that the US does not keep its promises.

Zarif added that Washington has certainly failed to make enough efforts to allay the international community’s concerns, which were the result of its policies against Tehran over almost a decade.

After the JCPOA went into effect, congressional Republicans have introduced many sanctions bills and other legislation to undermine the agreement that is viewed as a foreign policy legacy of President Obama’s administration.

The American banks are still banned from dealing with Iran as part of an old US trade embargo that still remains in place. Accordingly, this is believed to have already effectively blocked any transactions with Iran which is based on US dollar, because they would ultimately have to be cleared in the US.

IFP Media Wire

Reports and views published in the Media Wire section have been retrieved from other news agencies and websites, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website. The IFP may change the headlines of the reports in a bid to make them compatible with its own style of covering Iran News, and does not make any changes to the content. The source and URL of all reports and news stories are mentioned at the bottom of each article.

Recent Posts

US admits efforts to change regime in Iran

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has publicly admitted that over the past two decades…

3 hours ago

Israel seeking to destroy Palestinians through deliberately cutting off water: HRW

A new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report has warned that Israel is pursuing extermination and…

3 hours ago

Putin claims Russia evacuated 4,000 “Iranian fighters” from Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin claims Moscow has helped evacuate 4,000 "Iranian fighters" from Syria, where…

3 hours ago

Confirmed: 2 Iranians gunned down in France

The Iranian Embassy in France has provided details regarding the tragic shooting that claimed the…

6 hours ago

Iran proposes development fund for D-8 members

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has highlighted the necessity of establishing financial mechanisms to enhance trade…

6 hours ago

South Korea claims at least 100 North Korean soldiers killed, 1,000 wounded in Russia-Ukraine war

At least 100 North Korean troops have been killed while fighting for Russia against Ukraine,…

7 hours ago