TEHRAN – Tehran’s Ambassador to The Hague, Alireza Jahangiri, said on Tuesday that the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is a good example of the “triumph of diplomacy”.

The ambassador made the remarks during a ceremony held in the Iranian embassy in The Hague to mark the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

“The intensive and long-term negotiations between the European and American sides with the Islamic Republic of Iran in order to end an unnecessary crisis in the issue of peaceful nuclear activity, which led to the JCPOA, is a good example of the triumph of diplomacy, multilateralism and Iran’s dedication to its commitments,” the embassy website quoted Jahangiri as saying.

Pointing to the U.S. withdrawal from the deal in May 2018, he said that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported for 13 times each time certifying Iran’s commitment to its obligations whilst on the contrary the U.S. failed in this “historic test” by violating its obligations.

The ambassador also expressed Iran’s unhappiness with the European Union to fulfill its commitments since the U.S. abandoned the deal.

“Unfortunately, other parties, including Europe, have not yet been able to fulfill their obligations as a result of which the balance in the agreement has been disrupted.”

After months of delay on January 31, France, Germany and Britain finally announced the creation of INSTEX, a special purpose vehicle aimed at facilitating legitimate trade between European economic operators and Iran.

Ambassador Jahangiri said, “We hope that what the European Union recently unveiled as INSTEX could help both sides to enjoy economic benefits of the JCPOA.” 

The European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said INSTEX will support legitimate European trade with Iran.

It added that INSTEX will function under the highest international standards with regards to anti-money laundering, combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and EU and UN sanctions compliance.

In May 2018, Trump unilaterally pulled the U.S. out of the JCPOA and ordered reimposition of sanctions against Iran. The first round of sanctions went into force on August 6 and the second round, which targets Iran’s oil exports and banks, were snapped back on November 4.

The U.S. has threatened to punish any company that do business with Iran.

NA/PA