MNA – Iran has once again slammed the European parties to the 20105 nuclear deal for their lack of commitment in preserving the deal in the face of US’ unilateral sanctions.

“The US’ unilateral sanctions, as well as the lack of commitment by the E3 [Germany, France and the UK] are the main reasons behind the JCPOA collapse,” Iranian President's Chief of Staff Mahmoud Vaezi said in a tweet on Thursday.

“They must take the responsibility for this collapse and its repercussions,” he added.

The deal was reached between Iran and a group of countries then known as the P5+1 — which included the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany — on July 14, 2015. However, in May 2018, US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the JCPOA and re-imposed the sanctions that had been lifted under the deal.

Verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran remained fully compliant with the JCPOA for an entire year, waiting for the co-signatories to honor their commitments and offset the impacts of the US withdrawal.

But, as the European parties continued to renege on their obligations, the Islamic Republic moved in May 2019 to suspend its JCPOA commitments under articles of the deal covering Tehran’s legal rights in case of non-compliance by the other side.

Earlier in July Iran sent a letter to Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, demanding the launch of the dispute resolution mechanism of the nuclear deal over the failure of the three European signatories to the agreement to honor their commitments.

Following the letter, on the fifth anniversary of the deal, Borrell pledged “to do everything possible” to preserve the landmark nuclear deal signed between Iran and originally six major world powers in 2015.

“The JCPOA remains the only tool to provide the international community with the necessary assurances regarding Iran’s nuclear program… The full implementation of the JCPOA by all sides remains crucial,” Borrell said.