French ambassador's remarks blatant violation of JCPOA: Iran

A senior Iranian diplomat has warned France of the adverse effects of the recent remarks made by its ambassador to the United States Gérard Araud, saying such statements amount to blatant violation of a multilateral 2015 nuclear accord.

"If tweets by @GerardAraud represent France's position, we're facing blatant violation of the objective and theme of the JCPOA (the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and UNSCR [United Nations Security Council Resolution] 2231," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi said in a post on his official Twitter account on Sunday.

He called on Paris to immediately clarify the issue, otherwise Tehran will "take the appropriate measure."

Araud, who has served as France's ambassador to Washington since 2014, tweeted on Saturday that "it is false to say that at the expiration of the JCPOA, Iran will be allowed to enriching uranium."

He added that according to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and its Additional Protocol, Iran must prove, under strict monitoring, that its nuclear activities are civilian.

In another Twitter post, the French diplomat said under the NPT, it is "illegal" to enrich uranium "without a credible civilian program."

Iran summons new French envoy over 'unacceptable' tweets

Also on Sunday, Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned new French Ambassador to Tehran Philippe Thiebaud over Araud's "unacceptable" tweets.

Head of the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s secretariat in charge of following up on the implementation of the JCPOA, Hossein Sadat Meidani, summoned the French ambassador, telling him that the tweets' contents are not acceptable for the Islamic Republic in any way.

The Iranian official called for the French government's explanation, saying that if the case is not attended to and resolved "in a satisfactory way," Tehran will pursue it based on the mechanisms envisaged in the JCPOA.

Sadat Meidani added that the Islamic Republic reserves the right to give an appropriate response to such remarks.

Thiebaud, for his part, said he was not aware of the tweets, but would immediately inform the French government of the Islamic Republic’s protest.

The French ambassador to Tehran expressed his country's political will to fully implement the JCPOA.

SS