Long way before JCPOA collapses, says Rouhani’s chief of staff

Chief of Staff of Iranian President Mahmoud Vaezi told Mehr on Mon. that the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) is still in place and that “there’s a long way before our complete withdrawal from the JCPOA.”

When asked by Mehr correspondent about the likelihood of Iran’s return to the pre-JCPOA conditions regarding its nuclear program given the end of the country’s’ technical measures in reducing commitments, Vaezi dismissed the possibility, stressing that “the JCPOA is in place for the time being, and the United States is the only party that has pulled out.”

“Today we are in the third step of reducing commitments to the JCPOA,” he said.

“There is a long way before we could reach the point,” of returning Iran’s nuclear program to the pre-JCPOA conditions, he added.

There are only a few days left to Iran’s 60-day deadline for its fourth JCPOA step, which is set to run out on Nov. 6.

The reductions come as part of Iran’s plans to “create balance between the country’s rights and commitments to the JCPOA,” following the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, and lack of practical measures from the European signatories to the JCPOA.

Tehran has so far taken three steps, highlighting that all its measures are reversible as soon as other parties can shield its economy from damages of US unilateral sanctions.