Stop leveling constant accusations, address Israel’s illegal nuclear activities: Iran to GCC

Iran says the “clumsy, irresponsibly and meddlesome” remarks by the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) aim to harm technical nuclear talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna, urging the Arab states to stop leveling constant accusations against Tehran and address Israel’s illegal nuclear activities instead.

“These [GCC] irresponsible remarks are made in continuation of their anti-Iran remarks which are not meant to make a request for participation but seek to destroy the trend of technical talks in Vienna,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Friday.

Diplomats from Iran and the UK, France, Russia and China plus Germany, the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), scuttled by former US President Donald Trump, held talks in Vienna on Thursday and Friday with the purpose of ensuring Washington’s return to the JCPOA and the lifting of its sanctions against Tehran.

Iran fully honored its nuclear commitments under the deal for an entire year, but it began to scale down its commitments on May 8, 2019. The decision was made as part of Iran’s right under Articles 26 and 36 of the JCPOA in response to the breach of the agreement by the other side.

Trump combined his so-called maximum pressure policy with repeated calls on Tehran to renegotiate a new deal, which Iran rejected categorically.

The GCC states should take into account the dangers of hundreds of Israeli nuclear warheads and Tel Aviv's refusal to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which is the biggest threat to peace and stability in the region, Khatibzadeh said.

In letters sent to the foreign ministers of the permanent members of the UN Security Council on Wednesday, GCC Secretary General Nayef Al-Hajraf said the nuclear talks in Vienna must address the concerns and interests of the Persian Gulf countries to enhance security and stability in the region.

He also claimed that Iran’s announcement of its plan to ratchet up uranium enrichment is a dangerous and worrying indicator for regional and international security.

In similar interfering remarks, Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit has also expressed his deep concerns over Iran’s decision to increase its enrichment of uranium to 60 percent, claiming that it is a dangerous development and a clear step toward developing a nuclear weapon.

In response to the allegations, the Iranian spokesperson said, “Secretaries general of these bodies should know that Iran is a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency and all nuclear activities of the Islamic Republic are under the supervision of this organization’s Safeguards [Agreement].”

Khatibzadeh emphasized that Iran would continue to expand its nuclear activities in accordance with its legitimate rights and national interests in order to meet its peaceful requirements.

He recommended that the two bodies stop overlooking the existing realities and focus their attention on the parties that have violated the JCPOA and the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorses the nuclear deal.

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