MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th January, 2020) Iran's parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani, stated on Sunday that Tehran's continued cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency is dependent on the actions of European countries, after the governments of Germany, France and the UK released a joint statement on Tuesday threatening to trigger a dispute resolution mechanism within the framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
"Iran is not much for threats, but we state frankly that if Europe, for any reason, adopts an unfair approach in using the article 37 [to begin dispute resolution proceedings] in the nuclear deal, we will then make a serious decision about our cooperation with the IAEA, and the plan is ready at the Iranian Parliament," Larijani remarked in parliament, as quoted by Iran's Mehr news agency.
The US' economic influence over Europe is influencing the so-called E3 countries (Germany, France, UK) to threaten to open a dispute case, the speaker remarked, adding that Tehran's next move will be a reactionary one.
"We will not start this, but act in accordance with the Europeans' measures, therefore it is better for them to be fair and reasonable about this," the speaker stated, as quoted by the agency.
On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of the E3 countries released a joint statement threatening to trigger a dispute resolution mechanism within the JCPOA's framework due to what they called Iran's failure to meet the commitments of the nuclear deal.
Iran announced on January 5 that it would begin abandoning the remaining portion of commitments under the JCPOA, specifically on acceptable levels of uranium enrichment. At the same time, Tehran stated that it would continue to cooperate with the IAEA and resume the implementation of nuclear commitments once Washington lifts economic sanctions imposed as part of its so-called "maximum pressure" policy.
Two days later, Iranian Ambassador to the UN Majid Takht Ravanchi said that despite the JCPOA rollback, Tehran is not interested in possessing nuclear weapons.
The JCPOA was signed between Iran and the so-called P5+1 countries, comprising Russia, China, France, the UK, the US plus Germany. The European Union is also a signatory of the deal that requires the Iranian authorities to scale back the country's nuclear program and uranium reserves, in return for sanctions relief. In May 2018, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the agreement and imposed economic sanctions on Iran.
