Iran to the Europeans: We want real support to maintain the nuclear agreement

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran could "return to the status quo" before the July 2015 agreement on its nuclear program, a spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said on Monday.

"If the Europeans and the Americans do not want to meet their commitments, we also - through the reduction of our commitments - will return to what it was four years ago," Bahruz Kamalundi said in a statement quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

EU foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels today, focusing on ways to maintain a nuclear deal with Iran and reduce tension in the Gulf region.

In statements ahead of the meeting, the ministers renewed their stand to maintain the agreement, demanding Tehran to waive the decision to reduce its commitments.

Unified position
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Laudrian said Europe must remain united in an attempt to preserve the Iranian nuclear deal, calling on Tehran to reverse its decision not to abide by some of its provisions.

Ludran said Iran's decision to reduce its commitment to the agreement, which the United States withdrew from, was a bad reaction to a bad decision.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mugherini reiterated the EU's position on the need to maintain the nuclear deal.

She said the EU would discuss with its international partners all measures to ensure Iran's full compliance with the terms of the agreement.

For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif said that the mere reluctance of the Europeans to maintain the nuclear agreement is not enough.

Zarif called on the Europeans to provide real support for Iran, stressing that this has not happened so far.

On the fate of the Iranian oil tanker detained by Britain in Gibraltar, Zarif said he received a promise from his British counterpart to facilitate the release of the tanker.

Practical procedures
For his part, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Moussaoui said any demand for Iran to back down from its decision to reduce its commitments without making any real guarantees to stop the sanctions is inconsistent with logic and not acceptable.

In response to a recent statement by European countries signatories to the nuclear agreement, Moussaoui said that the form and content of Tehran's commitment to the terms of the agreement were entirely dependent on the commitment of the other parties.

He said that the European countries should take practical and effective measures to implement the nuclear agreement, and not expect Iran to continue to implement the agreement by its own free of charge.

Iran's Atomic Energy Organization has warned that if European and US states fail to meet their obligations, Tehran will continue to reduce its nuclear commitments and return the situation to its pre-2015 deadline.