U.S. has not met JCPOA obligations: Velayati

July 17, 2016 - 21:33

TEHRAN - Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior foreign policy advisor to the Leader, said on Sunday that the U.S. has not fully met its obligations based on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly known as the nuclear deal.

“The U.S. has not fulfilled its commitments in the JCPOA; the sanctions have not been removed completely and unfortunately, some of the Leader’s conditions have not been observed,” Velayati said in a forum in Tehran.

“Obama should order removal of sanctions in written, but contrary to their obligation, he has not done that yet. We fulfilled our commitments before the specified time, but the Western sides have not removed sanctions yet,” remarked Velayati, a veteran politician who served as foreign minister from 1981 to 1997.

The objective of nuclear talks and the nuclear pact was a restriction of nuclear activities by Iran and removal of sanctions by the West, however the West has not observed its obligations as was expected, Velayati noted.

Despite the nuclear deal the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed two pieces of legislation linked to the international nuclear agreement with Iran, one year after the landmark pact was announced, defying President Barack Obama's veto threat.

Voting largely along party lines, the Republican-controlled House voted 246 to 179 to pass a new set of sanctions on Iran, and 246 to 181 for a measure to block Iran's access to the U.S. financial system, including use of the dollar, according to Reuters.

The House on Wednesday passed a bill to bar the U.S. purchase of "heavy water," also with little backing from Democrats.

Every congressional Republican, and several of Obama's fellow Democrats, opposed the nuclear deal between Iran, the United States and other world powers announced in July 2015 in which Tehran agreed to curtail its nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions.

Since then, Republicans have repeatedly offered sanctions bills and other Iran-related legislation that Democrats dismiss as bids to score political points by undermining a deal seen as a potential foreign policy legacy for Obama.

NA/PA

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