Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, speaking on national television, criticized Western proposals to replace the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan (JCPOA) with a new agreement.

In particular, the secular leader of the Islamic Republic negatively assessed the so-called “Trump deal” and the decisions of the “European troika” (which includes Britain, France and Germany) on the dispute resolution mechanism under the agreement on the Iranian nuclear program. At the same time, Rouhani called on the United States and Europe to "return to the JCPOA."

"The Prime Minister of Great Britain (Boris Johnson. - RT ) proposed putting aside the JCPOA and moving on to the Trump deal ... But Trump only violates the agreements, violates international laws and standards," said Rouhani.

Recall that the JCPOA was concluded in July 2015 following the results of ten-year negotiations in the “5 + 1” format with the participation of representatives of the Russian Federation, USA, China, Great Britain, the EU on the one hand, and Iran on the other. The deal provides for serious restrictions on Tehran’s enrichment of uranium in exchange for lifting a significant part of economic sanctions from the Islamic Republic.

In May 2018, Washington unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA, and in November completely restored the sanctions regime against Tehran. In turn, Iran announced a phased reduction of its nuclear program obligations. On January 5, 2020, the government of the Islamic Republic announced that the state was finally withdrawing from the nuclear agreement after the assassination of Iranian general Kassem Suleimani during an air strike by the US Air Force.

“Thus, the Iranian nuclear program will not have any restrictions in terms of production, including enrichment capacities, percentage and amount of enriched uranium, as well as research in this area and further development of the program,” the Iranian government said in a statement.

“Will lead to a new escalation”

From the point of view of the United States, Iran violates the terms of the JCPOA. On January 8, Donald Trump called on Tehran to abandon nuclear ambitions and said that while he was president, the Islamic Republic “would not be allowed to have nuclear weapons.”

Also, as the head of the White House believes, Iran must take on a number of additional obligations. Washington’s key demand is the refusal to develop ballistic missiles, which the Americans believe could become carriers of nuclear warheads. Trump believes that the text of the JCPOA has not worked out well enough measures to control the missile arsenal of the Islamic republic.

  • Iranian ballistic missile launch
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  • © Mahmood Hosseini / TIMA

The United States has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Iranian authorities support "extremists" and illegal armed groups. The United States officially considers the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Shiite Hezbollah and a number of other groups as terrorist organizations (for example, Asaib Ahl al-Haqq, which, according to the State Department, is “funded and trained” by Quds).

Washington calls on the JCPOA to withdraw from the agreement and conclude a new deal. This approach is shared by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He agreed with the opinion of the American leader that the agreement is “flawed,” although the Foreign Ministry of the United Kingdom, as follows from the joint statement of the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom (“European troika”) of January 14, formally supports the JCPOA - in the document the treaty is described as "the main achievement of multilateral diplomacy."

Foreign Ministers of the three states condemned the US’s unilateral withdrawal from the deal and emphasized that they are working to maintain the agreement.

At the same time, diplomats reproached Iran for refusing to comply with the JCPOA terms after May 2018. The Foreign Ministers decided to refer the issue of violation by Tehran of its obligations to the Joint Commission as part of the dispute settlement mechanism on the basis of article 36 of the nuclear deal. Tehran and Moscow negatively perceived this step of the “European trio”, recalling that the crisis in the implementation of the JCPOA is not related to Iran’s policy.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic, called the decision of the European states a strategic mistake. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi drew attention to the fact that the dispute settlement mechanism was launched “more than a year ago”, after Washington left the JCPOA.

The Russian Foreign Ministry, in turn, believes that there are "no grounds" for the decision of European states on the dispute settlement mechanism. The ministry does not exclude that the ill-conceived actions of the “Euro-three” “call into question the prospects of a nuclear deal”.

On January 15, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that France, Germany and the United Kingdom act "contrary to their own statements in favor of maintaining the JCPOA."

“We have contacts with the Eurotroika, the European Foreign Ministry, Iran, and China on all aspects of the situation, which is extremely alarming. The attempt of the “Euro-troika” to launch a dispute resolution mechanism in accordance with the 36th paragraph of the JCPOA is a destructive step that sharply reduces the chances of maintaining the JCPOA, ”RIA Novosti quotes Ryabkova.

This position of the Eurotroika may be due to the fact that countries are under pressure from the United States. According to The Washington Post, citing sources, Donald Trump threatened France, Britain and Germany with 25% duties on European cars. Such a warning was made to European states a week before they launched a dispute resolution mechanism for a nuclear deal with Iran.

Unacceptable Requirements

Experts interviewed by RT also believe that Europe is not pursuing a very adequate policy on the issue of the JCPOA. Senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Konstantin Truevtsev believes that France, Britain and Germany "are trying to find a compromise solution between America and Iran, which, however, seems unsuccessful."

“Iran has taken a number of steps that go beyond the scope of this deal. But such behavior is only a response to the actions of the West, which puts forward demands that are unacceptable to Tehran, ”Truevtsev stated.

Senior researcher at the Center for Near and Middle East Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Irina Fedorova also negatively assessed the diplomacy of leading Western countries. According to her, France, Great Britain and Germany in the situation with the JCPOA, openly accusing Iran of violating the terms of the treaty, "actually sided with the United States."

  • Isfahan Uranium Conversion Plant
  • Reuters
  • © Raheb Homavandi

“The countries of Europe initially sought to maintain the JCPOA. Because they soberly assessed the security benefits that this agreement brings them. However, in the end, they succumbed to US pressure, ”said Fedorova.

As the expert explained, the economic factor played a significant role in the transition of Europe to such a strategy. Trade relations with Tehran are very limited, and the prospects for a better situation look rather vague, as the sanctions regime continues to operate. At the same time, trade with the US “totals trillions of dollars,” added Fedorova.

Analysts believe that the only way to resolve the situation around Iran is to preserve the JCPOA, which limits Iran’s "nuclear ambitions" and opens up the possibility of normal economic development for the republic. However, today, given the requirements of Western states, primarily the United States, a compromise is hardly possible.

“Rouhani refuses to even discuss the Trump deal because of a host of hostile actions against Iran, including the assassination of General Suleymani. In the current situation, the Islamic Republic simply cannot do otherwise. For the parties to sit down at the negotiating table, progress is needed not so much from Tehran, but from Washington, ”Truevtsev explained.

According to Irina Fedorova, the destruction of the JCPOA will create the prerequisites for the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, which poses a certain threat to the security of the entire region.

“Tough US policy is forcing Iran to make efforts to create nuclear weapons. As Tehran advances in this direction, other countries in the region may also declare their nuclear ambitions. First of all, we are talking about Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The implementation of the SVPD a priori blocks such a development of events. But the chance to save the deal will appear only if the US softens its position, ”summed up Fedorova.