Alwaght- A senior Iranian diplomat says the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers will be in danger if European countries fail to fulfill their pledge to ease the US’ pressures and let Iran reap the economic benefits of the deal.
The US’ withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in May and its “illegal” move to increase pressure on Tehran upset the balance between the Islamic Republic’s commitments under the deal and the benefits it gained from it, Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyyed Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday.
Under such circumstances, the failure of Europeans and other parties to ease the pressures, as they had promised to, has increased concerns about the future of the nuclear deal, Araqchi said in a meeting with his Belgian counterpart in Brussels.
Despite Washington’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May and re-imposition of sanctions on Tehran in November, the Europeans have reaffirmed their commitment to the JCPOA, as have Russia and China.
The EU is trying to create a special payment mechanism, known as Special Vehicle Purpose (SPV), in order to facilitate doing business with Tehran in the face of the US sanctions. However, the process has taken too long and this has sparked Iran’s protest.
Araqchi on Wednesday urged the Europeans and other parties to the nuclear deal to implement the mechanism as soon as possible in order to guarantee Iran’s economic benefits under the deal.
For his part, Belgian Deputy Foreign Minister Bruno van der Pluijm said the Europeans are hopeful they would be able to develop the SPV soon.
Meanwhile, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi also warned that Tehran's patience is running out over the failure of the European Union's economic pledges to deliver any "tangible results."
Salehi, who was is in the Belgian capital of Brussels to attend the third seminar on peaceful nuclear cooperation, made the remarks in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday ahead of a meeting with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini in Brussels.
He said the EU's efforts were encouraging but added: "We have not yet seen any tangible results."
