Iran Rejects JCPOA Renegotiation as ‘Absolutely Unacceptable’

By Staff, Agencies

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations [UN] rejected as “absolutely not acceptable” any proposal for the renegotiation of the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA].

Majid Takht-Ravanchi made the remarks during a meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, saying, “The JCPOA is an agreement coming out of hard-won negotiations involving difficult gives and takes, and any proposal for its revision, renegotiation or extension will be against resolution 2231 and absolutely not acceptable to Iran.”

The Iranian envoy said Tehran would not negotiate its legitimate ballistic missile program, and bullying policies of some world powers would not intimidate the country into relinquishing its defensive means.

Takht-Ravanchi also warned that any attempt to link the future of the landmark deal to extraneous issues is “doomed to fail.”

Elsewhere in his address to the Security Council, the senior diplomat said Iran has already gone out of its way to save the 2015 nuclear deal and should not be asked to pay a heavier price.

Takht-Ravanchi said the US has imposed more than 15,000 sanctions against Iran over the past four years while European countries have utterly failed to uphold their commitments under the deal, particularly at a time that the Islamic Republic is battling the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

“Sanctions are only one part of the destructive bullying policies and practices of the US against my country, which include its systematic Iranophobia campaign, warmongering, military adventurism in the ‘Persian’ Gulf, interference in our domestic affairs and many other unlawful and provocative actions,” he said.

“Sanctions prevent the import of humanitarian goods, including vital medicines and medical equipment needed for patients particularly those with rare or complicated diseases,” Takht-Ravanchi added. “At a time when Iran is experiencing one of the worst outbreaks of COVID-19, sanctions are drastically hindering our national response to the pandemic.”

Stressing that Tehran has been denied the dividends of the deal and suffered severe damage and suffering, the envoy said Iran’s scale back of its obligations were in full accordance with its rights and commitments under the deal and are also completely reversible.