TEHRAN - Hossein Naghavi Hosseini, a member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, has said that the Europeans should abide by their obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

In an interview with ISNA published on Tuesday, he said that Iran has fulfilled its obligations and Europe should do the same.

On May 8, Iran announced a partial withdrawal from some aspects of the pact, saying that the country would no longer adhere to some of the limits on its nuclear activities. It also threatened to step up uranium enrichment if it was not shielded from the sanctions’ effects within 60 days.

U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled Washington out of the nuclear deal in May 2018 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.

Also, on April 22 the U.S. announced that Washington has decided not to extend waivers allowing major importers to continue buying oil from Iran. The waivers ended on May 2.

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

On March 20, Iran’s central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati announced that a mechanism similar to INSTEX has been registered in Iran, officially called the Special Trade and Finance Institute (STFI).

During a meeting with a group of Austrian MPs in Tehran on April 29, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi criticized European delay in implementing its special mechanism to save the JCPOA.

Speaking at the 9th round of Iran-Norway political consultations on April 30, Araqchi said the international community has not responded properly to the U.S. illegal act in withdrawing from the JCPOA.

“The U.S. proved that it does not understand language of respect and interaction and can just talk with language of bullying,” he said.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday that it is essential to implement the nuclear deal.

In an interview published online by Le Parisien on Saturday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also said that it is a pity that the U.S. is not honoring its commitments under the nuclear deal.

NA/PA