Zarif: US pursuing ‘destructive policy’
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday slammed the United States for failing to live up to its obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal, saying Washington has been pursuing a “destructive policy”.
“Unfortunately, one of the participants in the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] has not only failed to fully implement its obligations but has also been pursuing a destructive policy,” Zarif said in Moscow at a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in a reference to the US.
The Iranian minister, however, urged all other signatories to the JCPOA to continue implementing the international pact, TASS News Agency reported.
“We and other JCPOA participants need to maintain close cooperation in order to ensure that this accomplishment will continue to be realized,” Zarif added.
Iran and the P5+1 countries — namely the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany — signed the nuclear deal in July 2015. The agreement came into force in January 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.
The top diplomat thanked Russian authorities and his counterpart in particular for playing their part in reaching agreements related to the JCPOA.
“I have already said that the JCPOA is one of the few accomplishments that the global community managed to achieve in the recent years. As you have noted, the IAEA many times stressed and confirmed that Iran was committed to the implementation of the JCPOA,” he added.
US no more reliable
Upon arrival in Moscow, Zarif said Trump’s overuse of unplanned moves to take everyone by surprise has damaged the United States’ credit and reliability for partners.
“One of Mr. Trump’s policies is that he doesn’t want to be predictable. Of course, he has overused this policy so much that the US is not reliable much to any of its partners,” He said, according to Fars News Agency.
“I believe even Trump himself is unlikely to know what he wants to do next, but certainly the Europeans are not yet aware of Trump’s decision at all,” he said in response to the speculations that Europeans might have been informed of the US president’s upcoming decision about waivers on Iran sanctions on Friday and have called to meet Zarif in advance to discuss Trump’s decision.
The US president delivered an anti-iran speech on October 13, in which he refused to certify that Iran was complying with the terms of the JCPOA reached under his predecessor, Barack Obama, and warned that he might ultimately terminate the agreement.
Trump must decide by midjanuary whether to continue waiving US sanctions on Iran under the terms of the JCPOA.