Borrell: US No Longer a JCPOA Participant

The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the United States can no longer be considered a participating member of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran.
In May 2018, US President Donald Trump officially withdrew from the nuclear agreement with Iran, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which was negotiated by former president, Barack Obama.
Commenting on US attempts to extend an arms embargo against Iran as the United States is no longer a party to the deal, the EU top diplomat said, “It’s clear that in the statement by President Trump and the US presidential memorandum of last May, they announced that he was ending his participation in JCPOA.”
"And I also want to recall that the US has not participated in any meetings of activities within the framework of this agreement since then. So it's quite clear for us that the US is no longer a participating member in this agreement," Borrell stressed in an exclusive interview with RFE/RL on Thursday.
The ban on selling conventional weapons to Iran under the UN Security Council's Resolution 2231 that blessed the nuclear agreement will be lifted on October 18, 2020. The Trump administration has vowed to use all means available to reverse that and extend the UN arms embargo in October.
"We're not going to let that happen," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a news conference on April 29. "In the event we can't get anyone else to act, the United States is evaluating every possibility about how we might do that."

Any UN Member’s Right  

Borrell said the United States has a right to call for an arms embargo, like any other UN member, if they wish.
Pointing out that the 2015 nuclear agreement stipulated that the UN arms embargo on Iran would be lifted five years later, Borrell said any member could go to the UN Security Council and propose another measure. 
"Let's see what the security council decides then," he said.
The United States may only count on gaining the support of France, Britain and Germany, the three European sides of JCPOA. 
China and particularly Russia—the other two parties to the JCPOA—which stand to win major new arms contracts with Iran, are certain to oppose an extension of the embargo. 
Regarding the European Union's approach toward Iran during the coronavirus crisis and the call for sanctions relief and offering a significant sum in humanitarian aid to Iran, the EU foreign policy chief said he personally advocates giving aid to Iran and supports Iran's application to the International Monetary Fund for a $5 billion loan to combat coronavirus.
"As for the terms of any possible loan, this is the matter for the IMF in line with established procedures to ensure the effective use of such support. It is not the first time that the IMF gives financial assistance with conditionality and they have their ways and means to ensure effective use of the support they have granted," Borrell added.