clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

Iran says meeting with parties to nuclear deal constructive

July 28, 2019 at 5:00 pm

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi

An emergency meeting with parties to Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with major powers was “constructive”, Iranian official Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday, but said Tehran would continue to reduce its nuclear commitments if Europeans failed to salvage the pact, Reuters reports.

“The atmosphere was constructive. Discussions were good. I cannot say that we resolved everything, I can say there are lots of commitments,” Araqchi, the senior Iranian nuclear negotiator, told Reuters.

Parties to the deal met in Vienna on Sunday for emergency talks called in response to an escalation in tensions between Iran and the West that included confrontations at sea and Tehran’s breaches of the accord.

“As we have said, we will continue to reduce our commitments to the deal until Europeans secure Iran’s interests under the deal,” Araqchi said after the meeting.

Iran president: Foreign forces would stoke regional tension

Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and Iran have been trying to salvage the pact since the United States withdrew from it in May 2018 and re-imposed and toughened sanctions on Iran, crippling an already weak economy.

The Europeans say breach of the agreement by Iran would escalate confrontation at a time when Tehran and Washington are at risk of a miscalculation that could lead to war.

However, their efforts to protect trade with Iran against the US sanctions have yielded nothing concrete so far. Earlier this month, Tehran followed through on its threat to increase its nuclear activities in breach of the agreement.

Iran has called on Europe to accelerate its efforts.

“All our steps taken so far are reversible if other parties to the deal fulfil their commitments,” an Iranian diplomat told Reuters before the meeting was due to start.

READ: Iran intends to restart activities at Arak heavy water nuclear reactor

In response to the sanctions, Iran said in May it would decrease its commitments under the nuclear pact. Under the deal, most international sanctions against Tehran were lifted in return for limitations on its nuclear work.

So far, Iran has breached the limit of its enriched uranium stockpile as well as enriching uranium beyond a 3.67% purity limit set by its deal with major powers, defying a warning by Europeans to stick to the deal despite US sanctions.

The UN nuclear watchdog, policing the deal, has confirmed the measures announced by Tehran.