Mohammad Javad Zarif published a copy of the letter on his Twitter account on Thursday, calling for action in the face of Washington’s “ever-expanding economic bullying,” which poses a threat to “not just the accord, but multilateralism and the rule of law.”
Zarif wrote, “If JCPOA is to survive, the remaining JCPOA Participants and other economic partners need to ensure that Iran is compensated unconditionally through appropriate national, regional and global measures.”
“In line with Iran’s commitment to legality and the peaceful resolution of international disputes, the Islamic Republic of Iran has decided to resort to the JCPOA mechanism in good faith to find solutions and to determine whether and how the remaining JCPOA Participants and other economic partners can ensure the full benefits that the Iranian people are entitled to derive from this global diplomatic achievement,” he added.
Zarif further said the very terms of the JCPOA and UN Security Council Resolution 2231 – which endorsed the agreement—gives Tehran the “unquestionable” right to take “proper action” in the face of “numerous unlawful acts by the U.S., particularly its withdrawal from the agreement and its unilateral re-imposition of all sanctions.”
“I should like to emphasize that the United States cannot be allowed to benefit from its unlawful withdrawal from the JCPOA, nor can it threaten or compel other States into violating a Security Council resolution,” the Iranian foreign minister pointed out.
Elsewhere in the letter, Zarif blasted a policy statement delivered on 21 May by US Secretary of State Pompeo, in which he repeated a series of unfounded allegations against Iran and threatened the country with the “strongest sanctions in history” if it failed to fulfill Washington’s 12-point list of demands.
“I am confident that your esteemed Government is fully aware of the falsehood of the allegations against my country and the illegality of the US Secretary of State’s demands,” Zarif wrote.
Zarif further said that Pompeo “openly threatened the rest of the world that any actor that does not cease dealing with Iran will be punished.”
Washington’s “terror support” allegations against Iran are a mere attempt to “revise history,” Zarif wrote.
“Unlike the United States and its current and former allies – such as Saddam Hussein during the 1980s—the Islamic Republic of Iran has never invaded another country and has been on the forefront of helping its neighbors – upon their requests – to fight extremist terrorists that are armed and financed by the US and its regional clients,” he added.
The letter comes amid efforts by Tehran and its partners in the 2015 deal – France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China – to keep the agreement in place after US President Donald Trump announced last month that Washington was walking out and slapping the nuclear-related sanctions back on Iran.
