Bringing nuclear deal into dispute rooted in weakness: Iran’s Foreign Ministry

Iran slams the launch by France, Britain and Germany of a dispute mechanism under the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran as a “passive” move rooted in their “weakness,” warning that the Islamic Republic will give a firm response to any “unconstructive” move.

“The three European countries’ action is a completely passive move taken from a position of weakness,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told reporters on Tuesday.

Although Iran responds in pure good faith to any well-intentioned action concerning the agreement, it would also respond “firmly, decisively, and aptly” to any act of non-commitment or malicious or unconstructive measure that could target the deal, he added.

Earlier in the day, the trio, collectively known as the EU3, formally triggered the dispute mechanism, which accuses Iran of violating the agreement and could lead to the restoration of the anti-Iran UN sanctions that had been lifted by the deal, named the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Mousavi, meanwhile, said the EU3’s most recent action was nothing new, and “in practice, would not lead to any new development” as the Islamic Republic previously sought recourse to the procedure once the US’s departure threw the JCPOA off balance.

The Joint Commission monitoring the agreement’s implementation was formed on several occasions afterwards, and “all parties reached consensus and asserted that the US’s illegal withdrawal has brought about the current vexed situation,” the spokesman said.

He reminded the EU3 that the Commission had ratified a set of solutions aimed at redressing the balance, but the European states “have failed to take any pronounced and serious action ever since to commit to their obligations.”

If the Europeans, who claim to have good intentions, seek to continue to give in to the US pressure or try to abuse the dispute mechanism at the Joint Commission, “they should prepare themselves for potential consequences, of which they have been notified,” Mousavi cautioned.

SS