BICOM

President Hassan Rouhani has said that Iran will restart certain aspects of its nuclear programme in response to the US withdrawing from the JCPOA nuclear deal.

A letter from President Rouhani was delivered to the envoys of the remaining signatories to the JCPOA, detailing which aspects of the deal Iran will suspend. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said that Iran will not be committed to observing the limitations for low-enriched uranium stockpile (300 kg) and heavy water reserve (130 tons) and will no longer sell its enriched uranium and heavy water to other countries. The decision to restrict these commitments falls within sections 26 and 36 of the JCPOA, which allows a country to take steps if one party withdraws from the agreement.

In a speech broadcast on national television, Rouhani said the remaining signatories – the UK, France, Germany, China and Russia – had 60 days to implement their promises to protect Iran’s oil and banking sectors from US sanctions. If they fail to do so, Rouhani said Iran will withdraw from more commitments in the deal and will increase uranium enrichment. He warned of a “firm response” if the nuclear issue is once again referred to the UN Security Council, but suggested that Tehran is ready for nuclear negotiations.

The Iranian state-run news agency said: “The partial and total reduction of some of Iran’s commitments and the commencement of some of the nuclear activities that had been stopped in the framework of the plan was Iran’s first step in responding to the withdrawal from the US as well as the failure of European countries to fulfil their obligations.”

It added: “Officials in our country say the road to diplomacy is open, and Iran’s steps are a new opportunity to diplomacy and correcting the wrong path of unilateralism.”

A French official said yesterday: “We do not want Tehran to announce tomorrow actions that would violate the nuclear agreement, because in this case we Europeans would be obliged to re-impose sanctions as per the terms of the agreement.”

Since the US withdrew from the nuclear deal a year ago, Washington had granted waivers to some countries to continue to buy Iranian oil for a limited time, but last week it said it would now end the waivers to reduce Iran’s crude exports to zero.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit London today for talks with Prime Minister Theresa May and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.