MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd December, 2020) Tehran calls on the EU nations to implement their commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement, Government Spokesman Ali Rabiei said on Tuesday in response to France's accusations of violating the nuclear deal.
Last week, Paris expressed concern over Tehran's violation of its obligations under the nuclear agreement and urged the Iranian government to return to full compliance. In response, Rabiei said that Tehran could not unilaterally fulfill its pledges under the deal.
"If France and other European parties to the deal really want to maintain and revive the JCPOA in such a way that Iran will benefit from the agreement, they should abide by their commitments under the JCPOA and seek to have cruel sanctions against Iran lifted," Rabiei said in a virtual press conference, as cited by the government.
The JCPOA was struck in 2015 by Iran, Russia, France, China, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union. Under the deal, Tehran had to scale back its nuclear program and significantly downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief, including lifting the arms embargo five years after the deal's adoption. In 2018, US President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement, negotiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and began implementing hard-line policies against Tehran, which in turn discontinued its own obligations.
