TEHRAN – Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has said it would be a “mistake” to imagine that the Islamic Republic will adhere to the nuclear deal, officially called the JCPOA, under all conditions.

Araqchi made the remarks in a Thursday meeting with the Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide in Oslo.

He also stressed that any attempt to link the deal with “other issues” would be irrelevant and further complicate the regional situation.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly described the JCPOA, which was negotiated under his predecessor, Barack Obama, as “the worst and most one-sided transaction Washington has ever entered into,” a characterization he often used during his presidential campaign, and threatened to tear it up unless amendments are made to it to include agreements on Iran’s military program and regional policy.

“The JCPOA is first and foremost a security pact in the field of non-proliferation. Any collision with it will weaken the non-proliferation system and will confront put us in a situation to choose between security and no security,” underlined Araqchi who was a key negotiator in drawing up the nuclear agreement with the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) in July 2015.

For her part, Soreide voiced strong support for the nuclear accord, stating that “there is no better alternative for this deal and all-out effort is needed for the JCPOA to survive.”

On Wednesday, Araqchi warned that Tehran is well prepared to deal with any possible scenario related to the future of the country’s nuclear agreement.

“We will powerfully defend the Islamic Republic of Iran's interests in the face of measures by the American president. We are ready to counter and defend against any scenario,” he stressed. 

Araqchi stated that the world will see how fast Tehran can reactivate its nuclear capacities and even bolster them to a much higher level than before the nuclear agreement was concluded.

He added, “European countries are currently negotiating with each other and America” about the future of the JCPOA.

The deputy foreign minister’s remarks come ahead of a May 12 deadline for Trump to decide whether to extend waivers of economic sanctions on Iran under the nuclear deal.

SP/PA