Iran Press/ Iran news: In an interview with the Dutch newspaper, NCR, Iranian deputy foreign minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi said there is still hope that the landmark nuclear deal can be salvaged, but it depends on how determined the Europeans are to honour their commitments under the deal.
Commenting further Araghchi said, JCPOA is currently "in the intensive care unit", and the Europeans "must try harder to salvage the nuclear accord".
He pointedly added: "One of the lessons that Iran has learned following the signing of the landmark multilateral nuclear accord is that making a deal with the world powers and being committed to our obligations (under the JCPOA) has actually resulted in more sanctions, not less, against the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Deputy foreign minister warned: "If this trend continues, Iran's attitude and approach will change, and the other lesson we learned from JCPOA is that resistance works better than cooperation."
Asked whether Iran is prepared to enter into a new round of negotiations with the US to reach a new accord, Araghchi said Iran will not renegotiate JCPOA and "we will not negotiate about our missile program, since the missiles are essential for Iran's defence. They are non-negotiable."
It is worth noting that Iran has so far taken four steps, gradually pulling back from its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), because after the US walked away from the agreement in May 2018, the Europeans have been unable to honour their commitments and they haven't been able to protect Iran's interests under the deal. Iran hopes the move will spur the Europeans to do more to salvage the deal.
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