Press TV - European parties to the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), did not invoke a mechanism that could lead to the re-imposition of United Nations sanctions against Tehran, a Chinese envoy says.

Fu Cong, director general of the Department of Arms Control of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, made the remarks while speaking to reporters after a three-hour-long meeting of the Joint Commission on the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal in Vienna on Friday.

"All countries need to refrain from taking actions that further complicate the situation," he said.
"In our view there is an element of automaticity into this and we can't be sure that countries can keep this process under control. It could aggravate tensions," he added.
However, the Chinese diplomat noted that all parties called on Iran to remain in full compliance of the JCPOA.

Representatives from Iran and the five remaining signatories to the landmark nuclear deal -- Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China -- as well as the European Union attended the Friday meeting to discuss ways to save the accord.

It was the first meeting by the remaining parties to the JCPOA since July. In May 2018, US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the international deal, in defiance of global criticism, and later re-imposed the sanctions that had been lifted against Tehran as part of the agreement.

In response to the move, Tehran has so far rowed back on its nuclear commitments four times in compliance with Articles 26 and 36, but stressed that its retaliatory measures will be reversible as soon as Europe finds practical ways to shield the mutual trade from the sanctions.

However, European members since last month have begun raising the possibility of triggering the JCPOA’s “dispute resolution mechanism,” which is also known as the trigger mechanism, and whose activation can lead to the return of the UN sanctions on Iran.

Ahead of the Vienna meeting, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif referred to a statement issued by Washington to refute allegations made by European signatories of the JCPOA claiming that Iran's missile activities have violated the deal.

"Brian Hook (US Special Representative for Iran) has given our E3 JCPOA partners a timely reminder, openly admitting that missile testing is NOT prohibited in Security Council Resolution 2231," the foreign minister said in a tweet.

Iran to continue JCPOA commitment cuts until it enjoys economic benefits: Araqchi

Meanwhile, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi said Tehran will continue to scale back its commitments under the nuclear deal until it can receive the accord’s economic benefits.