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IRAN-NUCLEAR-POLITICS-EU-LEAD
Iran urges Europe to take ‘effective’ steps to save nuclear deal
TEHRAN, July 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Iran on Monday urged the European
parties to the 2015 nuclear deal “to take practical, effective and
responsible decisions” to save the landmark agreement.
“We stress that the continued voluntary and goodwill based actions by the
Islamic Republic of Iran are rooted in the principle of reciprocity of rights
and duties” in the nuclear deal, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
On Sunday the European parties to the deal — Britain, France and Germany
— called for dialogue as tensions further intensified between Iran and the
United States.
In a statement, the so-called E3 expressed concern the deal was at risk of
further unravelling but said it was up to Iran to ensure its survival.
The three European states were among the key players in the 2015 deal —
known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA — on Iran’s
nuclear programme.
But US President Donald Trump in 2018 announced Washington was pulling out
of the deal, to the dismay of its European allies.
Angered that its beleaguered economy is not receiving sanctions relief it
believes it was promised under the deal, Iran has intensified its sensitive
uranium enrichment work, prompting stern warnings from Washington.
In its statement on Monday, the foreign ministry in Tehran said the
expectations of the Europeans were “unrealistic”.
“Any expectation for Iran to return to the conditions prior to May 8, 2019
without proof of any political will and practical ability of the European
parties” to ensure sanctions relief “is an unrealistic expectation”.
BSS/AFP/RY/1850 hrs