Iran: EU’s Path of Diplomacy Getting Narrower Every Day

By Staff, Agencies 

Iran’s deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi warned European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the JCPOA, that the time is running out and the path to diplomacy is getting narrower and more impassable every day.

Araqchi made the remarks in a Thursday meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in Moscow.

In the four-hour meeting, the Iranian diplomat referred to French President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative to save the accord, and said Iran always welcomes any idea and initiative that can contribute to the peaceful resolution of the crisis.

However, he added, “such initiatives are acceptable only if they are balanced and realistic and serve Iran’s interests under the JCPOA.”

The Iranian diplomat lashed out at the US’ one-sided policies and Europe’s failure to fulfill its commitments after Washington’s withdrawal from the JCPOA, and said, “If Iran’s demands are not met, the Islamic Republic will continue to reduce its JCPOA commitments based on its right enshrined in Article 36 of the accord, and no one should doubt Iran’s resolve to do that.”

In the Thursday evening talks with Ryabkov, Araqchi stressed that the path for diplomacy is still open.

“However, this path is getting narrower and more impassable every day, and the countries remaining in the JCPOA should know they have little time, if they are serious about maintaining the deal,” he warned.

Iran says the European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers have proved incapable of fulfilling their commitments under the JCPOA.

The Russian diplomat, for his part, blasted Washington’s withdrawal from the multilateral agreement, and described it as a stark violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

“Russia supports the JCPOA as a great achievement of multilateralism and will keep in touch with other JCPOA parties in order to save the deal,” Ryabkov noted.