Press TV - A high-ranking Iranian official says illogical stances taken by the United States contravene Iran's nuclear deal with the P5+1 group of countries to which Washington is also a signatory.
Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on international affairs, made the remarks in a meeting with President of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives Siegfried Bracke in Tehran on Sunday.
“According to all existing reports, Iran has proved its commitment to the nuclear deal, but unfortunately Americans, especially under the [US President Donald] Trump's administration, are following illogical stances, which are at odds with the nuclear agreement,” he added.
Velayati emphasized that the JCPOA was not an agreement between Iran and the US but a deal endorsed by the entire international community.
Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China – plus Germany signed the nuclear agreement on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.
Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limitations on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.
The UN Security Council later unanimously endorsed a resolution that effectively turned the JCPOA into international law.
In his latest report released on September 11, the IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano once again confirmed that Iran had lived up to its commitments under the JCPOA.
“The nuclear-related commitments undertaken by Iran under the JCPOA are being implemented,” Amano said in his introductory statement to the Board of Governors.
Elsewhere in his remarks, pointing to geopolitical issues in the region and the world, Velayati said, “In contrast to the past when international developments transformed regional issues, we are witnessing that regional developments are impacting the international scene.”
He also referred to the sensitive situation in the region and emphasized that the Islamic Republic was seriously pursuing the fight against terrorism as its principled stance.
The senior Iranian official noted that Tehran helped legitimate governments in the region thwart their enemies’ plots, saying, “We are ready to cooperate with all countries, which are interested and serious in this fight.”
JCPOA, proper chance for Iran, Belgium: Bracke
Bracke, for his part, said his country believed that Tehran-Brussels relations were not confined to the two sides, but were multilateral ties as Belgium was a member state of the European Union.
He added that the nuclear deal was a good chance for Iran and Belgium, expressing his country’s keen interest in expanding relations with Tehran given its high potential in scientific fields.
The president of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, who has traveled to Tehran at the head of a parliamentary delegation, held separate meetings with President Hassan Rouhani, Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, and Vice President for Women and Family Affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar on Saturday. He also attended a joint press conference with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on the same day.
