BERLIN —
European powers on Saturday raised “serious doubts” over Iran’s sincerity in
seeking a nuclear agreement, warning that Tehran’s position jeopardizes
prospects of restoring the 2015 accord.
اضافة اعلان
European
mediators last month appeared to make progress in restoring the 2015 accord as
Iran largely agreed to a proposed final text.
But optimism
dimmed when the
US sent a reply, to which Iran in turn responded.
In a joint
statement on Saturday, France, Germany, and Britain said that the final package
put to Tehran had taken the European powers “to the limit of their
flexibility”.
“Unfortunately,
Iran has chosen not to seize this critical diplomatic opportunity, they said,
assessing that “instead, Iran continues to escalate its nuclear program way
beyond any plausible civilian justification”.
Tehran has also
reopened issues related to its legally binding obligations under the
Non-Proliferation Treaty that was concluded with the UN atomic energy watchdog
IAEA.
“This latest
demand raises serious doubts as to Iran’s intentions and commitment to a
successful outcome on the
JCPOA,” France, Germany and Britain said, using the
acronym for the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The JCPOA had
been trashed by former US president Donald Trump, who instead imposed sweeping
new sanctions.
Hopes had grown
that the agreement might be revived under President Joe Biden who favors
restoring it.
Under the deal,
Iran will enjoy sanctions relief and again be able to sell its oil worldwide in
return for tough restrictions on its nuclear program.
The three
European powers’ statement came a day after US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken assessed that Iran’s latest reply on the nuclear deal is a step
“backwards”.
He also warned that
Washington is “not about to agree to a deal that doesn’t meet our bottom-line
requirements”.
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