TEHRAN — Russia and China have criticized the three European parties to the Iran nuclear deal over a move to trigger the dispute mechanism.

France, Britain, and Germany confirmed on Tuesday that they had triggered the dispute mechanism in the nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), but said they were not joining the United States campaign to exert maximum pressure on Tehran.

“We have therefore been left with no choice, given Iran’s actions, but to register today our concerns that Iran is not meeting its commitments under the JCPOA (Iran deal) and to refer this matter to the Joint Commission under the Dispute Resolution Mechanism, as set out in paragraph 36 of the JCPOA,” the three European states said in the statement, according to Reuters.

Russia said on Tuesday that it sees no grounds to trigger the dispute mechanism, saying the activation of this mechanism may make it impossible to return to the implementation of the agreement, TASS reported.

On Wednesday, China expressed regret over the decision as well.

“This decision will not help solve the issues or ease current tensions,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a press briefing in Beijing, China Internet Information Center reported.

China has always believed that Iran reduced its commitments to the JCPOA due to specific reasons, said Geng.

He said that the United States unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA, while ignoring international law and its international obligations, imposing maximum pressure on Iran and obstructing other parties in keeping their commitments.

“Such practices are the root cause of current tensions,” he said.

China urged all relevant parties to stay calm and exercise restraint, resolve differences through dialogue and consultation within the JCPOA framework, take concrete steps to restore the balance of the rights and obligations of the JCPOA and try their best to safeguard and implement the deal, Geng added.

China will stay in close contact and coordination with relevant parties and make tireless efforts to this end, he added.

The JCPOA was struck between Iran and the five permanent UN Security Council members — the United States, Russia, China, France, and the UK — as well as Germany and the European Union.

The accord came under increasing strain ever since U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from it in May 2018 and unleashed the “toughest ever” sanctions against Iran despite worldwide objections.

MH/PA