TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said yesterday it would return to pre-nuclear status with world powers if European countries fail to meet their obligations, while European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mugherini said the remaining parties were not ready to activate the dispute resolution mechanism, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Iran still had at least one year to build a nuclear bomb, but there was little chance of keeping the deal alive.

In a separate statement, Iran's Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Behruz Kamalundi said Tehran would return to its pre-nuclear agreement with world powers if European countries failed to meet their obligations.

In a statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry urged the European parties to the nuclear agreement signed in 2015 to take practical, effective and responsible decisions to salvage the historic agreement. "We stress that the measures Tehran continues to carry out on a voluntary basis are based on the principle of reciprocity in rights, And duties in connection with the nuclear agreement ».

The spokesman for the ministry, Abbas Moussaoui, that his country will remain committed to the nuclear agreement with international powers in 2015 as much as the other signatories will abide by it, adding in press statements that Iran expects Europe to take practical steps to implement the agreement.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, speaking to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), said on Wednesday that just showing the desire to maintain a nuclear deal by Europeans was not enough.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mujerini told a news conference following a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Friday that the remaining parties to the Iran nuclear deal were not ready to activate the dispute resolution mechanism.

"At the moment, none of the parties to the agreement has indicated that they intend to activate this item, which means that at present, none of them is considered, and in light of the current data we have received, particularly from the International Atomic Energy Agency, big".

For his part, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers that the time is still available to save Iran's nuclear deal, adding that his country does not agree with the United States, its closest ally, in its handling of the Iranian crisis.

"Iran still has at least a year to build a nuclear bomb, but there is little chance of keeping the deal alive," Hunt told reporters, hoping to "reduce tensions" with Iran. Asked whether the European powers would seek to punish Iran for violating clauses of the agreement, Hunt said the Europeans would seek a meeting of the parties to deal with the matter. "We will and there is something called the Joint Commission, a mechanism in the agreement, One party that the other party violated, and this will happen very soon ».

"We want to give Iran a chance to return its measures that are contrary to its commitments," said Hunt, who is vying for the post of British prime minister. He said he agreed with the United States on the need to find a long-term solution to Iran's regional influence, But it differs with Washington's current approach.

"What the United States knows is that we regard them as our closest allies, and we believe that the alliance between the UK and the US was the basis of global peace and prosperity, but friends are different sometimes, and this is one of the rare times we disagree, but that does not mean we do not We work closely with them in pursuit of peace. "

The Europeans hope to persuade Iran to help them with the Enstex trade swap mechanism with Iran to circumvent US sanctions by avoiding the use of the dollar. But the situation is complicated, and a European diplomatic source said the broad-based US sanctions led to the withdrawal of European companies from Iran and the collapse of trade .

Diplomatic source:

• "US sanctions with wide impact led to the withdrawal of European companies from Iran and the collapse of trade."