E3 behavior putting end to diplomacy, forcing Iran have Shahab IV missile projects on agenda

He said as much as western countries hurt diplomacy, Iran will be forced to talk in another [military] language to them.

The Iranian lawmaker elaborated that the betrayals of Western countries to diplomacy, especially after martyrdom of Lt. Gen. Soleimani, by taking a neutral or dual stance towards Iran to comply with US’ policies after Trump's withdrawal from the nuclear deal, has moved the atmosphere towards a point where European countries now have to negotiate only with Iranian military officials.

 According to ICANA, “I advise European countries to watch their behavior not to make Iran have the Shahab IV Missile Project on its agenda,” he warned, “Iran can step back from its missile project restrictions, as it did remove its JCPOA commitments.”

In case of having Iran put its military options on the table, Europeans’ security will be at risk, he added.

The Iranian MP called for Europeans to respect Iran’s legitimate rights not to drag Iran-west diplomatic negotiations into military talks.

France, Britain, and Germany confirmed on Tuesday that they had triggered the dispute mechanism in the Iran nuclear deal, but said they were not joining the United States campaign to exert maximum pressure on Tehran.

"We have therefore been left with no choice, given Iran’s actions, but to register today our concerns that Iran is not meeting its commitments under the JCPOA (Iran deal) and to refer this matter to the Joint Commission under the Dispute Resolution Mechanism, as set out in paragraph 36 of the JCPOA," the three European states said in the statement, according to Reuters.

The nuclear deal, 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.

MNA/ICANA 441871