Any JCPOA Revision Unacceptable

Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations ruled out any possibility of the revision of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear issue, saying any such proposal would be “absolutely not acceptable” to Iran and violate the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorsed the deal. 
“JCPOA is an agreement coming out of hard-won negotiations involving difficult give and take, and any proposal for its revision, renegotiation or extension will be against Resolution 2231 and absolutely not acceptable to Iran,” Majid Takht-Ravanchi said in a meeting of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, according to the full text of his speech published by IRNA. 
The nuclear agreement was signed between Iran and the six world powers, and lifted international sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program. But it has been unraveling since 2018 when the United States pulled out unilaterally and reimposed sweeping sanctions on Tehran. 
Iran exercised restraint for a year, but as the European parties also failed to meet their commitments to counter the sanctions, it was eventually forced to take remedial steps in full conformity with articles 26 and 36 of JCPOA.
Iranian officials announced that all measures would be immediately reversed once the deal’s full economic benefits are revived by any means.
“Iran has paid a heavy price and has done much more than its fair share to preserve the JCPOA. Therefore, no one can expect us to do more,” Takht-Ravanchi said, adding that parties that violated the deal and the UNSC Resolution 2231 should bear responsibility. 
Highlighting Iran’s maximum resistance, he made clear that the policy of intimidation and pressure on Iran “does not and will not yield any result”.  
“The only way out is to go back to the prompt, full and unconditional implementation of JCPOA,” he said. 
The UN envoy reiterated Iran’s will to resume full compliance, as soon as all participants start implementing their commitments “unconditionally, effectively and in full”.

Doomed to Fail

Hopes of restoring JCPOA to its original shape have grown with the US President-elect Joe Biden’s vow to rejoin the deal in case Iran resumed strict compliance. 
He, however, has signaled intensions to launch follow-on negotiations to revise the deal and include other issues, including Iran’s missile program and regional policies. 
The Iranian envoy stressed that JCPOA cannot be linked to any other issues, as the focus of nuclear talks from the beginning was the nuclear issue. 
He noted that JCPOA participants decided “very wisely” not to allow other issues to complicate the already difficult negotiations.
“Therefore, any attempt now to link the future of JCPOA to extraneous issues will doom to fail,” he said.
Takht-Ravanchi pointed out that developing a conventional missile program is an inherent right of any country under international law and Iran is no exception. 
“Consequently, Iran will not negotiate its legitimate ballistic missile program. Living in such a volatile region as the Middle East, we will not allow our security and conventional defensive capability be compromised, restricted or undermined,” he said.