TEHRAN – MP Ghassem Jassemi has said that Iran’s fourth step in reducing commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the JCPOA, is a “serious warning” to the United States and Europe.

“President [Hassan Rouhani] announced the fourth step in reducing nuclear commitments in the past few days. This step was a serious warning to the United States and the Europeans and we proved our righteousness in the JCPOA and the fact that we negotiate to reach win-win deal. However, the other side did not fulfil its commitments,” Jassemi told ISNA in an interview published on Wednesday.

He noted that Iran will reverse its decision if the remaining signatories fulfil their commitments.

Rouhani on November 5 ordered the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) to start injecting uranium gas into advanced IR-6 centrifuges at the Fordow nuclear enrichment facility.

It was the fourth step by Iran to reduce its nuclear commitments in response to the abrogation of the multinational nuclear deal by the Trump administration and return of previous sanctions coupled with inaction by the European Union, especially its big trio (Germany, France, and Britain) which are signatories to the deal, to offset sanctions.

On May 8, exactly one year after the U.S. abandoned the deal, Tehran said its “strategic patience” is over and began to partially reduce its commitments to the agreement at bi-monthly intervals.

In the first stage, Iran announced that it will not limit its stockpile of the nuclear fuel to 300 kilograms allowed under the deal. On that date (May 8) Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said if the remaining parties to the JCPOA, especially Europeans, devise a mechanism to protect Iran from the sanctions’ effect in the two-month deadline it will reverse its decision. 

But since European parties missed the deadline, on July 7 Iran announced that it has started enriching uranium to a higher purity than the 3.67%, thereby starting the second step.

Again, as Europe missed the second 60-day deadline, Iran moved to take the third step, removing a ban on nuclear research and development (R&D).

NA/PA