Speaking to Mehr on Tuesday in reaction to a recent joint statement by Germany, France, UK urging Iran to stay in the nuclear deal, a board member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament said “it is rather absurd that these three European countries would say they are sticking to the JCPOA while refusing to live up to their commitments to the accord. They must be aware of the fact that complying with the JCPOA means taking practical measures.”
He went on to add, “in many of their meetings with Iranian officials and parliamentary delegations, the Europeans have admitted themselves that they have no authority of their own and cannot come out of the US’ influence.”
The MP then noted the EU’s failure in making its promised trade mechanism for Iran operational, as well as the bloc’s failure to live up to a single commitment of their 11 promised ones.
“The international community is well aware that Iran complied with all of its commitments to the deal and gave the other sides a long time to live up to their own,” he added.
“If they comply with their commitments, so will we,” the MP stressed.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson released a joint statement on Sunday, saying it was "essential that Iran return to full compliance with its commitments under the agreement."
The statement voiced concern over Iran’s reductions to its JCPOA commitments, saying the actions must be reversed.
The accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was a deal struck between Iran and the five permanent UN Security Council members — the United States, Russia, China, France and the UK — as well as Germany and the European Union.
The treaty has come under increasing strain ever since President Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal from the deal in May 2018 and unleashed the “toughest ever” sanctions against Iran despite global criticism.
Earlier this week, the US president urged other signatories of the deal to pull out of what had remained of the JCPOA, promising to impose new economic sanctions on Tehran.
In response, Tehran has so far rowed back on its nuclear commitments five times, but stressed that it will reverse its measures as soon as Europe finds practical ways to shield mutual trade from the US sanctions.
MNA/4824638