Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Mousavi said the current developments have affected the decisions that had been previously taken for the fifth step in cutting commitments to the JCPOA.
By current developments, he was referring to the US’ terrorist assassination of IRGC Quds Force commander Lt. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in a raid in Baghdad on Friday.
“A meeting will be held tonight and Iran’s policies regarding the JCPOA steps will be determined,” he added.
Meanwhile, Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei urged taking the fifth step following the US’ terrorist assassination of Lt. Gen. Qasem Soleimani as soon as possible.
Asked whether the US has proposed lifting its sanctions on Iran, Mousavi said “No. I do not confirm that.”
He added, however, that Iran’s precondition for holding talks with the US still exists; but that, too, has been overshadowed by the terrorist assault on the Iranian senior commander.
“First, a response must be given to what has happened, and then we will talk about the US’ commitments to the JCPOA. After we settled the score with the US, only then we can return to the issue of holding talks with the US within the 5+1 format,” he added.
The United States terrorist forces assassinated Lt. General Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq’s pro-government Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) — better known as Hashd al-Sha’abi — in an airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport early on Friday. The Pentagon said in a statement that US President Donald Trump had ordered the attack.
Meanwhile, Iran has been taking step-by-step measures to reduce the level of its commitments to the nuclear deal (JCPOA) following the US’ unilateral withdrawal from the agreement and the European countries’ failure to safeguard Iran’s economic interests in the face of US sanctions.
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