Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the window of opportunity for the restoration of the 2015 nuclear deal is not fully shut since Iran is ready to reverse all its remedial steps once the United States and its partners return to full compliance with the agreement.
“All the actions we are taking are reversible,” he said in an exclusive interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday.
The deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, has been in bad shape since the US quit and restored sweeping sanctions on Tehran.
The European parties also failed to withstand the US pressure and counter the restrictions, forcing Iran to eventually reciprocate by rowing back its commitments.
A recent parliamentary legislation has now required suspension of more commitments by a deadline if sanctions are not removed. This is seen by western countries as more complicating the revival of JCPOA.
The law urges the government, “not to completely finish”, but to reduce the presence of United Nations nuclear inspectors on “somewhere around Feb. 21.”
“What will happen then is that you will not see the Additional Protocol implemented in Iran,” Zarif said.
The Additional Protocol is an item attached to the Safeguards Agreement of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which allows snap inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran agreed to voluntarily and temporarily implement the protocol under the JCPOA.
“That doesn’t mean the window is fully shut, because if the United States and its partners return to the deal, return to full compliance, Iran will reverse its actions,” Zarif told CNN.
New US President Joe Biden has said he would bring Washington back to the deal if Iran resumed strict compliance, but Iran maintains the sanctions have to be removed completely and effectively first.
Tehran says it will also have to verify the effectiveness of the sanctions lifting before returning to full compliance with JCPOA.
Simple Process
In a separate interview with the Iranian state television on Sunday, Zarif said this verification will be simple.
“We must [be able to] sell oil as much as we want and the revenues must come back,” he said.
Apart from this precondition, Iran has said it would discuss other issues with the participants once the US is back in the deal, including a compensation for the devastating economic impacts of sanctions and guarantees for faithful US adherence in the future.
“The United States must make it clear and must give guarantees to Iran and other members of the deal that the behavior of President [Donald] Trump will not be repeated,” the foreign minister said, adding that Iranian people are not prepared to feel again the suffering that they felt for “four very very long years.”
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