Iran to take ‘additional steps’ in rolling back nuclear commitments

By Sadeq Dehqan

A senior Iranian lawmaker has censured the West’s lack of commitment to Iran’s nuclear deal and underlined Tehran’s resolve in rolling back its obligations under the 2015 international nuclear agreement with world powers.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Iran Daily, Hedayatollah Khademi, member of the Iranian Parliament’s Energy Committee, said, “Since the Europeans are not abiding by their commitments with respect to the JCPOA, there is no longer any reason to shutter Iranian nuclear activities; Iran needs to take firmer steps in diminishing its JCPOA commitments.” JCPOA is the acronym for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the official title of the Iran nuclear deal penned between Tehran and the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany.

Iran undertook to scale back its nuclear commitments in return for international sanctions relief. But the United States under Donald Trump pulled out of the deal in May 2018 and slapped fresh, “toughest-ever” sanctions against the Iranian economy. Tehran says the European cosignatories — Britain, Germany and France — have so far failed to uphold their commitments. They have expressed vocal support for the deal, but failed to provide meaningful economic incentives as required under the nuclear agreement.

Khademi touched on the European approach to the deal, saying that the Europeans refrained from upholding their end of the deal while asking Iran to stick to its commitments.

“This behavior lacks any logic,” he said.

“From the early days when the Americans exited the JCPOA, and the Europeans announced that they would remain in the deal and adhere to their commitments, it was clear that they only sought to waste our time, since Europe still does not find the power in itself to stand up to America.”

The Iranian parliamentarian went on to say that the Europeans have strong economic and political ties with the United States to the extent that they would not support Iran in such matters.

“Regardless of such issues, we gave the Europeans one year to stay true to their words and pledges with regard to the JCPOA, yet nothing special has taken place during this time,” noted the lawmaker.

The official added that Iran will not stand idly by while others decide.

Khademi cited Iran’s capacities in terms of mines and natural riches which, as he put it, comprise eight percent of the global resources, saying if the country manages such areas well enough, it could diversify its exports and avert sanctions.

He said that today the United States is not capable of sanctioning China or Japan, and even if it does, they will prove ineffective since “China has broken the back of the US economy through diversification of its products, and is not able to level its own embargoes on the US. If the Chinese withdrew their money from US banks, the American economy would face bankruptcy.”

The member of Iran’s Parliament further stated that Iran has for fifty years been after peaceful nuclear technology and energy as a right, and thus invested huge capital on them so as to meet its objectives.

Meanwhile, Ahmad-Ali Rezabeigi, another Iranian lawmaker, described the Europeans’ failure to follow up on their nuclear commitments to Iran as “predictable,” saying, “We engaged in negotiations with the West, but they eventually proved untrustworthy as they failed to deliver on their vows.”

He said the Europeans’ failure on the nuclear agreement made Iranian authorities reconsider their end of the deal, and therefore take reciprocal measures via cutting back on Iran’s commitments.