TEHRAN – A member of the Expediency Council has said Iran will not enter negotiations which aim to make changes to the text of the 2015 nuclear pact, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“In my opinion, any revision of the agreement which took 12 years to reach is not a proper action,” Mohammad Sadr said in an interview with the Hamshahri newspaper published on Wednesday.

The reform-minded politician said amending the JCPOA or attaching an addendum to it would void the agreement. “Therefore, Iran would not enter such negotiations,” insisted Sadr who served as deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs during the administration of Mohammad Khatami.

He pointed out that a country must have certain characteristics in order to enter negotiations with it, such as having the will to resolve the issues.

“We negotiated with the U.S. with regard to Barjam (JCPOA) for two years and reached good outcomes,” Sadr said, criticizing the Trump administration for withdrawing from the agreement.

“How can [we] negotiate with someone who has done this?” he asked.

Sadr further said that if U.S. President Donald Trump is sincere in his calls for talks with Iran, he must first return to the JCPOA, and only after that talks would be possible.

Back in May 2018, Trump unilaterally pulled Washington out of the nuclear deal 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.

On May 8, a year after Trump’s move, Iran officially announced that it would stop selling stockpiles of enriched uranium and heavy water for 60 days. However, Iran warned if a conclusion is not reached in this time period, it will take other measures step by step and will accelerate its uranium enrichment activities.

MH/PA