Berlin, Paris and London on Saturday expressed “serious doubts” about Tehran’s “commitment” to achieving a “positive result” in the ongoing negotiations to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal. “In early August, after a year and a half of negotiations, the coordinator of the JCPoA (the 2015 agreement, editor’s note) presented a set of final texts that would allow Iran to once again fulfill its obligations under the JCPoA and the United States to return to the agreement”, they recall the governments of the three countries in a joint press release.
“In this final package, the coordinator made additional changes that pushed us to the limit of our flexibility,” they note. “Unfortunately, Iran has decided not to take advantage of this decisive diplomatic opportunity” and “continues to escalate its nuclear program far beyond what could be plausibly justified on civil grounds”, lament London, Paris and Berlin.
“Serious doubts about Iran’s intentions”
Thus, Tehran recently requested again the closure of an investigation by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on traces of enriched uranium found in three undeclared sites, to which the head of the Agency, Rafael Grossi, refuses. “This latest request raises serious questions about Iran’s intentions and commitment to a positive JCPoA outcome,” the three countries argue.
According to them, “Iran’s position is not in line with its legally binding obligations and undermines the prospects for re-establishing the JCPoA”, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (United States, France, United Kingdom) concluded in 2015 with Tehran. Kingdom, China and Russia) plus Germany. “Our position remains clear and unchanged. Iran must cooperate fully and immediately with the IAEA, in good faith,” they add.
“Since Iran is not putting the agreement on the table, we will discuss with our international partners the best way to handle Iran’s continued nuclear escalation and lack of cooperation with the IAEA,” warn Paris, London and Paris. Iran’s latest response in the ongoing negotiations is a step “backwards”, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Brussels on Friday.
Source: BFM TV
