JCPOA Not Iran’s Central Foreign Policy Issue

The 2015 nuclear deal is not the central issue in Iran’s foreign policy, but the expansion of regional and extra-regional cooperation is a far more important priority, a lawmaker said. 
Thanks to this policy, Iran has been able to conduct around $130 billion worth of foreign trade and achieve more than $54 billion of non-oil export over the past year, despite difficulties and sanctions, Abolfazl Amoui, spokesman for the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said in an interview with ICANA. 
“This shows that Iran has taken effective steps in finding trade partners who would not accept America’s restrictions,” he said. 
The 2015 deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was signed between Iran and the six world powers to curb the Islamic Republic’s nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief. 
The United States, however, pulled out in 2018 and reimposed tough sanctions that prompted Tehran to react by scaling down its commitments. 
Negotiations began in early 2021 in Vienna, Austria, to work out how both sides could resume compliance, but have been stalled since last August over final differences, with both sides blaming each other for the stalemate.
Amoui said the JCPOA is still existing in Iran’s view, but its implementation has been facing challenges due to the other sides’ unfaithfulness.
“Those partners must know that any measure to further harm this agreement will be to their own detriment more than others,” he said.
As part of its countermeasures, Iran has advanced its nuclear technology and is enriching to 60% purity up to the needed amounts, he explained. 
“In the research and development sector, advancements have been made and past restrictions per paragraph 26 of the JCPOA are not being observed for the time being,” he added. 
Therefore, the other sides of the deal should be more concerned about the end of the nuclear deal, according to Amoui.
“Nevertheless, Iran has always announced that it is ready to adapt its countermeasures to conform to the JCPOA after verifying the behavior of the other sides,” he said. 
The lawmaker stressed that the Islamic Republic’s righteous demand is the lifting of cruel sanctions against the people of Iran, “but our hands are not tied either and we can take effective steps in response to any destructive measures.” 

Diplomatic Solution 

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has also recently said that Washington seeks a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear issue, lamenting the former president’s decision to withdraw from the JCPOA. 
“The best way to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon is an effective agreement that stops Iran form getting a nuclear weapon,” he said at a conference on Thursday, adding that the US will continue to seek a “long-term” diplomatic deal with Iran. 
Iran denies any intention to build a nuclear weapon, maintaining that is nuclear program is exclusively peaceful. 
“We will continue to send a clear message about the costs and consequences of going too far, while at the same time continuing to seek the possibility of a diplomatically brokered outcome that puts Iran’s nuclear program back into a box,” Sullivan said.