EU’s Practical Measures, Not Statements, Matter: Iranian MP
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Iranian lawmaker said what matters to Tehran is not the European Union’s statements but rather “practical measures” to meet their commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Speaking to reporters in Tehran on Tuesday, Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi pointed to a Monday statement by the EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini about the JCPOA and said such statements are no longer “credible” to Iran following the US withdrawal from the deal.
“Not only (such a) statement, but also a document is no longer credible to us given what the United States did regarding the JCPOA,” he said.
“Practical measures are important to us and this is a guarantee that we should receive (from the EU)…,” the lawmaker went on to say.
Mogherini on Monday warned there was "no alternative" to the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed unprecedented sanctions against Tehran following Washington's withdrawal from the pact.
"Secretary Pompeo's speech has not demonstrated how walking away from the JCPOA (nuclear deal) has made or will make the region safer from the threat of nuclear proliferation or how it puts us in a better position to influence Iran's conduct in areas outside the scope of JCPOA," the European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said in a statement.
She stressed "there is no alternative" to the JCPOA.
The EU has been trying to persuade Iran to stay in the 2015 agreement, even without Washington's participation.
In a speech from the White House on May 8, US President Donald Trump accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism and seeking nukes before announcing the US withdrawal from the nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
Following the controversial decision, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Iran weighs plans to remain in the agreement with the other five parties, provided that they ensure full benefits for Iran.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has underlined that any decision to keep the deal running without the US should be conditional on “practical guarantees” from the three European parties to the JCPOA.
