Press TV- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has warned the United States againstthe "painful mistake" ofpullingout of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
"Consideringwhat has been envisagedin the JCPOA in the field of research and development and the Islamic Republic of Iran's continued measures to develop its peaceful nuclear capability, if the US makes the mistake of exiting the JCPOA, it will definitely be a painful mistake for the Americans," Zarif told reporters on Friday upon his arrival in Tehran from the Kazakh capital of Astana.
Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council the US, 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 limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.
The Iranian foreign minister said US President Donald Trump has always sought"destroy the JCPOA," bothbeforeand after he took office in January 2017, adding that Washington has committed broad violations in the implementation of the nuclear accord.
Trump has repeatedly described the JCPOA, which was negotiated under his predecessor, Barack Obama, as the worst and most one-sided transaction Washington has ever entered into, a characterization he often used during his presidential campaign, and threatened to tear it up.
The US president said America's European allies must agree to tougher measures and new conditions until May 12, otherwise Washington would pull out of the deal.
The US under Trump has been seeking a revision of the deal and making modifications to it, including the conclusion of Irans missile program to the agreement.
Zarif further emphasized that the Islamic Republic is prepared for various scenarios.
"It has been fullyforeseen in the JCPOA what measures the Islamic Republicof Iran wouldcarry out if it cannot reap its (the agreement's)economic benefits," Zarif pointed out.
Washington has been accusing Tehran of not fulfilling its commitments under the deal.
This is while the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has in several reports verified Irans commitment to the deal.
Earlier this month, the IAEA head once again confirmed Iran's compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, warning that any collapse of the deal would be a "great loss."
Iranian officials have rejected the idea of making revisions to the deal, saying the US is in no position to alter or modify the JCPOA, which is backed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 and is an international document.
Zarif said on Tuesday that the United States is "in no position" to set conditions for the 2015 nuclear agreement.
An Iranian deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday the sacking of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson shows Washington is set on pulling out of the JCPOA.