TEHRAN – A high-level meeting of the JCPOA joint commission was held in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Wednesday.

The commission is tasked with monitoring commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers, 

Representatives from Iran, the 5+1 group (Russia, China, the U.S., Britain, France and Germany) and the European Union gathered in Vienna to address various issues regarding the implementation of the nuclear deal, known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

After the meeting, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters that all members of the 5+1 group protested Washington’s lack of commitment to the JCPOA and emphasized that the United States needs to carry out its duties under the deal.

“I think this time the commission dealt more assertively with America’s non-compliance,” Araqchi was quoted by IRNA as saying.

Despite all their pretensions, he said, the American delegation said they will remain committed to the JCPOA.

The Iranian diplomat also said what happens inside the United States is “completely irrelevant” to the implementation of the deal.

“They can send Barjam (a Persian acronym for the nuclear deal) back and forth between Congress and the White House, but they must adhere to their commitments in any case,” he said, adding as long as the U.S. is committed to the JCPOA, the deal will remain in place.

He also categorically ruled out any possibility of renegotiation on the terms of the JCPOA, saying the nuclear pact was aimed to resolve the nuclear issue and other issues must not be linked to it.

No other issues should be mixed with the JCPOA, except those that are mentioned in the text of the deal, he said.

The nuclear deal was signed between Iran, the European Union, Germany and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia – in July 2015. The agreement went into effect in January 2016.

Back in October, Trump declined to certify Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA, which he has described as “the dumbest and most dangerous” deal made in the “history of our country”. 

That gave Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions against Tehran that were lifted under the JCPOA.

The U.S. president also asked Congress to decide about the fate of the agreement, vowing to terminate the deal if Congress did not impose new sanctions on Iran.

Congressional and White House aides said on Tuesday that Congress will allow the deadline on reimposing sanctions on Iran to pass, leaving the JCPOA intact, Reuters reported.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson softened President Donald Trump’s harsh stance on the nuclear deal by saying Washington would remain in the 2015 accord “for the time being”.

“We have concerns about whether that agreement's going to deliver on its objective but for the time being, we're in agreement,” Tillerson told dozens of U.S. diplomats, New York Daily News reported.

He made the remarks during a town hall-style meeting with career diplomats at the State Department headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Monday morning.

Despite Trump’s anti-Iran rhetoric, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog – has issued nine regular reports each time confirming Iran’s adherence to the international deal.  

Iranian officials have time and again highlighted Tehran’s compliance with the JCPOA, and threatened to take retaliatory actions if the other side abandons the deal.

MH/PA