US' ‘embedded irrationality’ eroding optimism in JCPOA: Iran's nuclear chief

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says unilateral withdrawal of the United States from a landmark and multilateral nuclear deal with Iran, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has undermined the agreement, which could serve to prove that diplomacy is the most viable option for tackling toughest international issues.

According to Press TV, Ali Akbar Salehi made the remarks while addressing the “International Conference on Nuclear Security: Sustaining and Strengthening Efforts” in the Austrian capital, Vienna, on Monday.

“It was a dominant belief that the JCPOA could set a model in this regard …. But, unfortunately, this euphoria didn’t last long. With the embedded irrationality in the US administration’s mindset, such optimism is fading away so quickly,” he said.

He urged Europe, as a main stakeholder of the deal, to play its role in keeping the JCPOA alive through living up to their commitments without paying heed to the US administration’s "unjust pressures."

"Unfortunately, the US administration has not yet come to its senses in recognizing the reality on grounds and keeps on inflicting harm on our people as well as the people of the entire region while creating and supporting terrorist groups such as Daesh," Iran's nuclear chief added.

The JCPOA, better known as the Iran deal, was signed between Tehran and the 5+1 group -- the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany -- in 2015 and has been ratified in the form of a United Nations Security Council resolution.

But US President Donald Trump, a stern critic of the landmark deal, unilaterally pulled Washington out of the JCPOA in May 2018, and unleashed the “toughest ever” sanctions against the Islamic Republic in defiance of global criticism in an attempt to strangle the Iranian oil trade.

Under Washington’s pressure, the three European signatories to the JCPOA have so far failed to protect Tehran’s business interests under the deal against the American bans.

Elsewhere in his speech, Salehi said as a member state to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran maintains that in line with Article IV of the NPT, nothing “shall be interpreted as affecting the inalienable right of all the parties to the treaty to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination."

The AEOI head emphasized that nuclear security and safety measures must be utilized to support such objectives and functions.

ME