Moscow (IP) - The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Russia believed that it is still possible to save the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), provided that the remaining members have the political will and take practical action to balance the agreement.

Iran Press/Europe: Kazem Jalali made the remarks on Monday on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the signing of the JCPOA, saying that the JCPOA was the result of years of intense negotiations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Group of 5+1 (Russia, China, the United States, three European countries of Britain, France, Germany) and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security.

Subsequently, it was ratified on July 20, 2015, by UN Security Council Resolution 2231. 

According to Jalali, a look at the developments of the past five years shows that the executive process of the JCPOA has gone through many ups and downs. "Initially, we witnessed the implementation of JCPOA's commitments by Iran, and based on the agreements reached, part of the sanctions imposed on Iran in connection with its nuclear activities were lifted and part of the (arms) embargos were scheduled to terminate by the end of October 2020.”

"But the withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, the resumption of sanctions in two stages of 90 and 180 days, and the imposition of new sanctions by the United States made the implementation of this international agreement more complicated," Jalali said in a note.

"It is shameful that the United States, as a violator of international law, is urging other member states of the JCPOA not to abide by their international obligations," he added.

"Although Russia and China, both politically and in practice, have shown that they are determined the JCPOA continue its life, but the Europeans, despite their positive political orientations, have not yet been able to live up to their commitments.”

The Iranian Envoy went on to say that Europe's financial channel, called INSTEX, has been activated, but has not been able to have the necessary effectiveness as well due to limited transactions under US pressure.

Jalali added: "The recent move of the Europeans to present an anti-Iranian resolution in the Boarded of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency is another blow to the executive process of the JCPOA. In recent years, however, the Islamic Republic of Iran has had the most cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency."

The diplomat stated that at the time of concluding the JCPOA agreement, most members agreed that it was a win-win agreement, but after five years of successive blows on the JCPOA and its unbalanced implementation, this feature of the document has disappeared. 

“But there is still an opportunity to save the JCPOA, and it only requires the political will and practical action of the remaining members of the JCPOA to balance it," Kazem Jalali concluded.

101/214

Read More:

JCPOA, product of Iran openness to engagement: Foreign Ministry

Ex-White House official: Europe approach toward JCPOA, disappointing

Any action violating JCPOA will face consequences: Spox