Lewandowski: EU committed to JCPOA regardless of US decisions
Chairman of the European Parliament’s group for relations with Iran Janusz Lewandowski said that the European Union would remain committed to the Iran nuclear accord regardless of the US president’s decisions.
He made the remarks in a meeting with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in Tehran on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump delivered an anti-iran speech on October 13, in which he said that he would not continue to certify Iran’s compliance with the terms of the nuclear deal, reached under his predecessor, Barack Obama, and warned that he might ultimately terminate the agreement, Press TV reported.
The US Congress was then given 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under the nuclear accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China – plus Germany signed the nuclear agreement on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.
Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.
Lewandowski also said he carried good messages from the EU for Iran.
He added that the EU wished to develop trade relations with Iran as well as lifting sanctions on banking sector.
He also stressed the importance of establishing stability in the region, saying that Iran played a leading role in this regard, because it had made great efforts in the fight against the Daesh terrorist group.
During the meeting, the Iranian speaker said the Islamic Republic’s diplomacy is based on solving conflicts through dialogue, criticizing US attempts to hinder the implementation of the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement.
“Iran is committed to the JCPOA and baseless accusations leveled by the US and some of its allies in the region should not be allowed to prevent the implementation of the agreement,” he said.
The European Parliament can benefit from the JCPOA implementation and help increase economic cooperation with Iran by removing the existing obstacles, the Iranian Parliament speaker noted.
Larijani added that the US president was making comments against Iran on a daily basis with the aim of convincing other countries not to boost their relations with Tehran; while at the same time, he rewarded state sponsors of terrorism.
The top Iranian parliamentarian also urged international determination to eliminate terrorism and said, “Unfortunately, some countries are supporting terrorists and providing them with weapons while issuing statements that they oppose terrorism.”
Larijani emphasized that those who had created the Taliban formed the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group as well.