TEHRAN - Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has warned the European Union that it is not possible to link the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, to other issues, saying in that case the agreement will cease to exist.

“If they try to link the JCPOA to other issues, they will lose the agreement and other issues will become more complicated to settle,” Araqchi told Spanish newspaper El Pais in an interview published on Monday.

He added, “Mixing issues is a very big mistake.”

The top diplomat asked: Iran’s message is clear and that how is it possible to negotiate about other issues when the nuclear deal does not work?

Given the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal, the Europeans have a few weeks to guarantee Iran’s interests and time is needed to see whether the deal is working, he noted.

Since Trump withdrew from the nuclear pact on May 8, Iran has been seeking guarantees that its economic interests are protected otherwise it will resume nuclear activities at a greater speed.

The nuclear deal was signed in July 2015 between Iran, Germany, the European Union and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. It went into effect in January 2016.

International Atomic Energy Agency has reported ten times that Iran has been committed to the nuclear deal.

NA/PA