The European Union has joined Iran’s call on the United States to begin to fully comply with the 2015 nuclear deal, said the chief of staff of President Hassan Rouhani.
“Our negotiation team pursued Iran’s complaint of the US non-compliance in meetings between foreign ministers and their deputies. We decided to formally raise the complaint. The Europeans went along with our decision,” Mohammad Nahavandian was quoted as saying by IRNA on Sunday.
“This is one of our achievements. Europeans are also criticizing the US uncooperative stance.”
The landmark agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was the outcome of about two years of negotiations between Iran and the six world powers, namely the US, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany.
It took effect on January 16 to grant Tehran sanctions relief in return for scaling back its nuclear program.
Top diplomats from parties to the accord convened the first Joint Commission meeting at the ministerial level on September 22 in New York on the sidelines of the annual session of the UN General Assembly to discuss how to facilitate the action plan’s implementation.
The political directors and deputy foreign ministers also held talks a day earlier. The commission is a panel of representatives from all JCPOA participants tasked under the pact to monitor it and address issues related to its implementation.
Iran acceded to nuclear curbs under the action plan in the hope that it could revitalize its sanctions-hit economy by luring overseas businesses.
However, residual American restrictions that involve a ban on the use of dollar in Iran-linked transactions and processing such transactions through the US financial system have deterred oversees banks and investors from engaging with Iranian counterparts. Tehran has complained that Washington had not done enough to reassure anxious businesses and address their understandable concerns.
It has sought European leverage to pressure American policy- and decision-makers.
