US wants to keep JCPOA in limbo: Iran’s Larijani

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says the United States seeks to keep last year’s landmark nuclear agreement signed between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries in a state of limbo.

Larijani made the remarks in a press conference in Tehran on Tuesday in response to a question about a recent US Senate vote to extend the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) for 10 years.

“This US move was a kind of duplicity... [but] we have no legal vacuum for making decision [on how to respond to US measures],” he said.

“The nuclear agreement is not an agreement between Iran and the US, but rather it is an agreement at an international level,” he added.

Iran's top parliamentarian emphasized that the United Nations Security Council has endorsed the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), by adopting a resolution.

No single country is authorized to make a decision about the JCPOA and revoke it unilaterally, Larijani emphasized.

The US Senate on December 1 voted to extend ISA for another 10 years. The sanctions law, which would authorize the US president to re-impose sanctions on Iran, was first adopted in 1996 to punish investments in the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program and its support for anti-Israeli resistance groups. The ISA now needs President Barack Obama’s signature to turn into law.

Under the JCPOA, which was signed between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia – plus Germany in Vienna in July 2015 and entered into force in January, Tehran undertook to put limitations on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of all nuclear-related bans imposed against it.

UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015), which endorses the nuclear agreement, provides for the termination of the provisions of previous Security Council resolutions on the Iranian nuclear program and establishes specific restrictions that apply to all states without exception.

The top Iranian parliamentarian further said in case of any violation of the JCPOA by the US, Iran would "seek to retain the support" of other members of the P5+1.

He, however, urged patience and caution in this regard and warned against any hasty moves.

Larijani noted that China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has expressed his country’s stance on the recent US move against Iran. 

Speaking at a joint press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Beijing on Monday, Wang warned that no party to the JCPOA should allow its domestic upheavals to adversely affect its commitment to the accord.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian parliament speaker said the Russians are also in consultation with Iran over the issue while Tehran would hold negotiations on the matter with other members of the P5+1 as well. 

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk