Iranian FM: US Fails to Implement Provisions of Iran Nuclear Deal

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The United States is failing to implement provisions of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) known as the Iranian nuclear deal, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the CNN broadcaster in an interview on Sunday.

“The United States has failed to implement its part of the deal… For instance, when the White House made the announcement a couple of days ago that President [Donald] Trump used his presence in Hamburg during the G20 meeting in order to dissuade leaders from other countries to engage in business with Iran, that is a violation of not the spirit, but the letter of the JCPOA,” Zarif said.

He pointed that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was the only international organization responsible for monitoring Iranian compliance with the deal and it confirmed many times fulfilling the agreement by Tehran.

In July 2015, Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, namely China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany, signed the JCPOA. The nuclear deal stipulated a gradual lifting of the economic and diplomatic sanctions previously imposed on Iran in exchange for Tehran maintaining the strictly peaceful nature of its nuclear program. The plan’s implementation began in January 2016.

Trump's tough stance on Iran, however, differs from the position held by his predecessor Barack Obama, who actively promoted signing the deal. Trump believes that the Iranian nuclear deal has been ineffective and, therefore, must be revised.