IRNA � Iran�s Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei on Tuesday reiterated that the JCPOA is not amendable, saying that US withdrawal from the deal will not leave much impact on Iran�s economy.


He made the remarks in an interview with a magazine published by Russian Foreign Ministry.

Asked about President Hassan Rouhani�s comment that the JCOPA is not the ultimate goal; rather it should serve as a basis for the next achievements, he said that confidence is the basic element for development of any deal. The fundamental goal was that wall of mistrust must be eliminated so that the parties can enter into talks with each other in various fields.

The JCPOA was in fact a test for holding talks for solving outstanding issues, he said, noting that the US president�s behavior towards the JCPOA and withdrawal from it was a disappointing response to the test.

Iran�s missile power has a direct link with Iran�s defense capability, he said, contending that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hossein�s attacks on Iran during the eight-year imposed war and arrogant powers' support for him indicated that Iran�s defense system should be reinforced to such an extent that it would be able to ward off any threat to the country.

The US� objective by raising Iran�s missile program and launching a propaganda campaign is to sell its arms to certain rich Arab states and earn enormous revenues, he said.

Responding to a question on Iran�s reciprocal measures against US exit from the JCPOA, he said that Iran will stay in the deal until it serves the interests of the country; otherwise there is no need to keep the deal.

The US has never complied with the JCPOA, he said, noting that after signing the deal, Americans exerted pressure on the companies and economic institutions to stop cooperation with Iran and refrain from investing in the country.

Asked about Iran�s stance regarding creating nuclear weapon-free zones in the Middle East, he said that Iran was the initiator of nuke-free Middle East and proposed a plan in 1974 which was supported by certain regional states.

However, Israel owns nuclear weapons and it is not still a member of NPT, he said such factors are serious obstacles in the way of nuclear weapon-free Middle East.

As to the situation in Syria, Sanaei said that the situation is complicated in the Arab state and a large number of players are engaged in the war.

But some foreign players are present in the country without the Syrian government�s legal permit and some other have launched proxy war in the country, he said.