Russia, France, Britain reiterate support for JCPOA
November 03, 2017 - Three signatories of Iran nuclear agreement once again put their support behind the 2015 agreement despite US threats.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in a telephone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Thursday highlighted the need to implement the nuclear deal and stressed that its unilateral revision would be unacceptable, the Kremlin press service said in a statement.
"Vladimir Putin spoke about the results of his visit to Iran. In this connection, the two leaders pointed to the need to precisely implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for Iran’s nuclear program. They stressed that a unilateral revision of this important agreement would be unacceptable," the statement reads.
The conversation was initiated by France, TASS reported.
Under the nuclear deal, Tehran agreed to limit certain parts of its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions.
While former US President Barack Obama hailed the deal as one of the highlights of his career, his successor, Donald Trump, has blasted it as an “embarrassment.”
The US president delivered an anti-Iran speech on October 13, in which he said he would not continue to certify Iran’s compliance with the terms of the JCPOA, reached under his predecessor Barack Obama, and warned that he might ultimately terminate the agreement.
The US Congress now has less than 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran that were lifted under the nuclear accord.
This is while the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday once again reiterated Iran’s adherence to the nuclear agreement, stressing that UN inspectors are facing no problems in their verification efforts.
The other parties to the accord – Britain, Germany and China – have all reaffirmed their commitment to the agreement and urged the United States not to back out.
British Prime Minister Theresa May once again stressed the UK’s commitment to the Iran nuclear.
May said: “We remain committed to the JCPOA.”
She made the comments in a meeting with her Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in London on Thursday.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will travel to Washington next week in a bid to persuade US senators not to abandon the Iran nuclear deal or to impose fresh sanctions against Tehran that could jeopardize the deal, the Guardian reported.
He described the deal as an “amazing triumph of diplomacy”.
Johnson said the 80 million Iranians “deserve and need to feel the benefits of both the deal and engagement”, adding that “the International Atomic Energy Authority has found the Iranians in compliance”.
The British top diplomat said he was concerned that further sanctions might damage the limited economic engagement already under way.