Iran is going to stop observing part of its obligations under the nuclear deal, as stated by President Hassan Rouhani. So far, this applies to only two aspects. At the same time, Rouhani noted that this decision isn't the end of the nuclear deal. He said that Tehran would give the European nations 60 days to negotiate the future fate of the deal.
Artyom Krasulin with the details.
It's not the termination of the deal but a political demarche. Tehran gives the European nations 60 days to negotiate the future fate of the deal.
Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran: "Other members of the JCPOA have 60 days to fulfill their commitments on the issues of banking and oil trade. If Iran's interests aren't accommodated within 60 days we'll suspend our commitments on uranium enrichment and continue the modernization of the heavy water reactor in Arak".
Moreover, Tehran has already suspended some of the JCPOA items that apply to its enriched uranium and heavy water reserves. The ambassadors of France, Russia, Germany, China, and the UK have already been informed appropriately.
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister of Iran: "Unfortunately, the EU and the rest of the world community were unable to resist the pressure of the US. That's why Iran believes it's necessary to suspend some commitments and terms that it adopted on a voluntary basis within the framework of the deal. It was the Russian Foreign Minister who made the signing of this pact possible. Russia has been and still is our close partner. We hope to cooperate even more closely in the future".
Despite the statements of the Iranian Foreign Minister and his upcoming meeting with Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov, the majority of experts doubt that the US that withdrew from the deal in May 2018, violating the UN resolution, will change its position.
The promise to continue modernizing the heavy water nuclear reactor in Arak that can be used to produce weapon plutonium can alone disrupt the deal. Iran's intentions are also pretty clear from the statement on the Iranian President's website. The member-countries are accused of not taking specific steps to compensate for the damage inflicted by the US sanctions. Now, they have 60 days to fulfill their commitments, especially in the fields of banking and oil production.
As for the US, Trump's administration has made no official statement but the ultimatum had its effect. Instead of meeting with Angela Merkel in Germany, the US Secretary of State flew to Baghdad.
Secretary Pompeo, Twitter: "I visited Iraq and met with Prime Minister Adil Abd Al-Mahdi and President Barham Salih to reinforce our friendship and to underline the need for Iraq to protect diplomatic facilities and Coalition personnel".
The notorious growing Iranian threat has been repeatedly used by US diplomats. Previously, they used the same excuse to dispatch USS Abraham Lincoln and a tactical bomber group to the region.
Artyom Krasulin and Eugenia Zemtsova, Vesti.
