TEHRAN – The Islamic Republic says that the European parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), have not offered guarantees strong enough to save the deal after the U.S. unilaterally walked out.

Bahram Qassemi, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, on Sunday stressed that the proposals given by Germany, France, and the UK are suspected shaky on the operational ground.

U.S. quit the JCPOA on May 8 and ordered restoration of sanctions against Iran. The first batch of sanctions took effect on August 6.

The European Union trio –which are signatory to the nuclear deal - are expected to present their package of proposals to Iran before the second round of U.S. sanctions takes effect in early November.

“If fact we expect Europe to fill in the vacuum created by America’s exit from the JCPOA,” Qassemi stated.

Iran has said that if its interests in the JCPOA are not met, it sees no reason to go on staying in it.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday that Iran will abandon the JCPOA if it does not safeguard the country’s interests.

“The JCPOA is a means and not the goal and naturally we will abandon it if we come to the conclusion that it is not possible to safeguard our national interests by this means,” he said during a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani and his cabinet members.

The Leader also criticized Europe’s inappropriate behavior toward some issues such as the JCPOA and sanctions, saying that the officials should have “skeptical view” on the Europeans’ promises.

“There is nothing wrong with ties and continuation of talks with Europe, however, while carrying on with this measure, do not pin hopes on them [the Europeans] on issues such as the JCPOA and economy,” he noted.

Ayatollah Khamenei added, “The Europeans should understand from the Iranian officials’ words and actions that their actions will be followed by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s proportionate response and strategies.”

The Leader also said Iran would not negotiate with the current “brazen and irreverent” U.S. officials at any level.

“The result of negotiations with previous U.S. officials who at least saved faces was this. Now what negotiation can we have with the current brazen and irreverent U.S. officials who are openly threatening the Iranians? Therefore, no negotiation at any level will be held with the Americans,” the Leader pointed out.
 
The Leader said the Americans seek to boast that they managed to bring Iran to the negotiation table but Tehran will hold no talks with them.

SP/