After Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran adopted “constructive and moderate” stances, the Turkish ambassador to Tehran said.
“After Trump announced his position, we saw the stances adopted by Iran as constructive, commendable, moderate and good,” Reza Hakan Tekin told Tasnim News Agency in an interview published on Sunday.
This mature way of dealing with the US move perhaps shattered the dreams of some countries that had been hatching plots, he added.
The senior diplomat deplored the US move to dump the nuclear deal, which he believed was “a wrong decision”.
Tekin added that since the deal’s implementation–officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action– Iran has fully met its obligations and the same has been routinely attested by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“The unilateral withdrawal of the US from the international treaty, which has contributed to peace and stability in the region and the world, is not a constructive step towards serving global peace,” the ambassador said.
In a speech on May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which was signed in Vienna in 2015 after marathon negotiations between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties have launched high-level talks to save the accord.
The Turkish envoy said his country’s position regarding Iran have not changed at all since the US pullout, adding that “the two sides are maintaining relations at the highest levels. Indeed, these relations have improved in recent months and we are seeking ways to minimize the impact of foreign elements” on the quality of two-way ties.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has underlined that any decision to keep the JCPOA alive without the US should be conditional on “practical guarantees” from the three European parties to the deal.
In comments on May 23, Ayatollah Khamenei said the EU should protect Iranian oil exports from US intimidation and continue buying Iranian crude, and must promise they will not seek new negotiations on Iran's missile program and regional activities.
“Although there is a degree of uncertainty regarding the future of trade with Iran, we have increased the volume of our trade with Tehran and want to expand bilateral relations,” Tekin told the news agency.
