World ‘cannot trust Iran’ over nuclear future: Saudi foreign minister — Iran says will quit nuclear deal if major international banks continue to avoid doing business with Iran
LONDON: Adel Al-Jubeir, Saudi minister of foreign affairs, said on Thursday that the nuclear deal with Iran was unacceptable because Tehran could not be trusted to not produce a nuclear bomb in the future.
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The so-called “sunset clause” in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) means that in eight to ten years’ time Iran could manufacture a nuclear bomb “within weeks.”
The so-called “sunset clause” in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) means that in eight to ten years’ time Iran could manufacture a nuclear bomb “within weeks.”
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Addressing the foreign affairs committee of the European Parliament, Al-Jubeir said: “We believe the sunset provision is very dangerous. We don’t trust that Iran will not try (to make a nuclear bomb) eight to 10 years from now.
Addressing the foreign affairs committee of the European Parliament, Al-Jubeir said: “We believe the sunset provision is very dangerous. We don’t trust that Iran will not try (to make a nuclear bomb) eight to 10 years from now.
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“By the time they kick out the inspectors and by the time the condemnations end, they’ll have one bomb,” he said. “By the time they get a resolution in the UN, they’ll have three bombs and by the time the resolution is in place they’ll have a dozen bombs. And we are right next to them.
“By the time they kick out the inspectors and by the time the condemnations end, they’ll have one bomb,” he said. “By the time they get a resolution in the UN, they’ll have three bombs and by the time the resolution is in place they’ll have a dozen bombs. And we are right next to them.
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“Our point is enough is enough. They need to start to act as a normal country. The revolution is over. If they want to be respected in the world they need to abide by the rules of the world.”
“Our point is enough is enough. They need to start to act as a normal country. The revolution is over. If they want to be respected in the world they need to abide by the rules of the world.”
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The sunset clause allows Iran to gradually increase production of centrifuges and uranium enrichment after eight to ten years.
The sunset clause allows Iran to gradually increase production of centrifuges and uranium enrichment after eight to ten years.
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Speaking in London at the Royal Institute for International Affairs at Chatham House a few hours earlier, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied that the JCPOA contained a sunset clause, saying the deal made clear Iran’s “permanent” commitment to not having nuclear weapons.
Speaking in London at the Royal Institute for International Affairs at Chatham House a few hours earlier, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied that the JCPOA contained a sunset clause, saying the deal made clear Iran’s “permanent” commitment to not having nuclear weapons.
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Abbas Araghchi
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But he insisted the nuclear deal still gave Iran the right to continue its ballistic missile program.
But he insisted the nuclear deal still gave Iran the right to continue its ballistic missile program.
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“We — that is Iran and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action participants — decided quite intentionally to de-link Iran’s nuclear program from any other issue. Otherwise if we had wanted to have a package — with ballistic missiles, regional issues — then we would still be in negotiations,” said Araghchi, who is also Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator.
“We — that is Iran and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action participants — decided quite intentionally to de-link Iran’s nuclear program from any other issue. Otherwise if we had wanted to have a package — with ballistic missiles, regional issues — then we would still be in negotiations,” said Araghchi, who is also Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator.
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“We were successful (in negotiating JCPOA) because we focused on one issue. It would be a big mistake if anyone tried to link the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to any other issue — to regional issues, to Syria or Yemen. Not only would we lose the JCPOA but it would not help those other issues.”
“We were successful (in negotiating JCPOA) because we focused on one issue. It would be a big mistake if anyone tried to link the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to any other issue — to regional issues, to Syria or Yemen. Not only would we lose the JCPOA but it would not help those other issues.”
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He accused the US of pouring “poison” on Iran by prevaricating over whether Tehran had complied with the terms of the nuclear deal.
He accused the US of pouring “poison” on Iran by prevaricating over whether Tehran had complied with the terms of the nuclear deal.
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“The US has created an atmosphere of uncertainty. This is like poison for the business community for Iran. This destructive atmosphere prevents banks, companies, entities from working with Iran.”
“The US has created an atmosphere of uncertainty. This is like poison for the business community for Iran. This destructive atmosphere prevents banks, companies, entities from working with Iran.”
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US President Donald Trump’s denunciations of the deal were “a violation of the letter and the text of the deal, not just the spirit.”
US President Donald Trump’s denunciations of the deal were “a violation of the letter and the text of the deal, not just the spirit.”
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Iran had accepted some restrictions on its stockpiles of material as part of the deal to earn the trust of the other parties to the deal.
Iran had accepted some restrictions on its stockpiles of material as part of the deal to earn the trust of the other parties to the deal.
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“We have accepted these limitations to our nuclear program to build confidence,” Araghchi said. “When these restrictions are finished it doesn’t mean Iran can go for the bomb.”
“We have accepted these limitations to our nuclear program to build confidence,” Araghchi said. “When these restrictions are finished it doesn’t mean Iran can go for the bomb.”
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Araghchi told the Chatham House audience that while the nuclear deal “is a successful story for you — the West,” Iranians had not benefited greatly from the lifting of sanctions because of what he described as the suspicion and mistrust generated primarily by the US.
Araghchi told the Chatham House audience that while the nuclear deal “is a successful story for you — the West,” Iranians had not benefited greatly from the lifting of sanctions because of what he described as the suspicion and mistrust generated primarily by the US.
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Iranian official: We may leave nuclear deal if banks don’t come to Iran
Facing uncertainty over proliferation of sanctions against Islamic Republic, many financial institutions still won’t back investments in the country
“It is not a choice for economic cooperation: it’s a choice between having security or insecurity.”
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Iran’s deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi addresses the United Nations Security Council during a meeting on Iraq on September 19, 2014 at UN headquarters in New York City. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images/AFP)
A senior Iranian official said Thursday that Tehran may choose to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal it struck with six world powers if major international banks continued to avoid doing business in the Islamic Republic.
While the deal largely ended nuclear-related sanctions on Tehran, other sanctions, including those targeting its support for terror groups like Hezbollah and its ballistic missile program, continue despite the deal. Many banks are worried that doing business in Iran could cost them dearly, especially in the United States, if western officials determine their business ties contradict the requirements of existing sanctions.
Speaking at the Chatham House think tank in London, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the deal cannot “survive this way,” according to a Reuters report on his comments.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for the scrapping or amending of the nuclear deal, and said if some key issues were not addressed — including lack of international inspections of Iran’s military nuclear sites, as well as the lifting of some nuclear restrictions after 2025 — the US might withdraw entirely and reimpose the sanctions lifted under the deal.
But even if that does not happen, Araghchi said, “the deal would not survive this way.”
“If the same policy of confusion and uncertainties about the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) continues, if companies and banks are not working with Iran, we cannot remain in a deal that has no benefit for us,” Araghchi added, according to Reuters. “That’s a fact.”
Araghchi also rejected the US and Israeli view that the deal ceases to restrict Iran’s nuclear behavior down the road. “There is no sunset clause in the JCPOA. Although the US administration and Trump are talking about [a] ‘sunset clause’ and that JCPOA is just for 10 years, that is not true,” he insisted. “Iran’s commitment in the JCPOA not to go for nuclear weapons is permanent.”
Araghchi rejected Trump’s demand to address other issues as part of the continued operation of the nuclear deal, including the country’s burgeoning ballistic missile program.
Such a linkage would mean that the countries that negotiated the JCPOA “not only will lose the JCPOA, but will make other issues more complicated and more difficult to resolve. If we lose the JCPOA, we will face another nuclear crisis,” he warned.
“For the Europeans or the world community, when we talk about maintaining the JCPOA and saving it, it’s not a choice between the Iranian or the US market, it’s not a choice for economic cooperation: it’s a choice between having security or insecurity,” he added.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/iranian-official-we-may-leave-nuclear-deal-if-banks-dont-come-to-iran/
Speaking at the Chatham House think tank in London, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the deal cannot “survive this way,” according to a Reuters report on his comments.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for the scrapping or amending of the nuclear deal, and said if some key issues were not addressed — including lack of international inspections of Iran’s military nuclear sites, as well as the lifting of some nuclear restrictions after 2025 — the US might withdraw entirely and reimpose the sanctions lifted under the deal.
But even if that does not happen, Araghchi said, “the deal would not survive this way.”
“If the same policy of confusion and uncertainties about the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) continues, if companies and banks are not working with Iran, we cannot remain in a deal that has no benefit for us,” Araghchi added, according to Reuters. “That’s a fact.”
Araghchi also rejected the US and Israeli view that the deal ceases to restrict Iran’s nuclear behavior down the road. “There is no sunset clause in the JCPOA. Although the US administration and Trump are talking about [a] ‘sunset clause’ and that JCPOA is just for 10 years, that is not true,” he insisted. “Iran’s commitment in the JCPOA not to go for nuclear weapons is permanent.”
Araghchi rejected Trump’s demand to address other issues as part of the continued operation of the nuclear deal, including the country’s burgeoning ballistic missile program.
Such a linkage would mean that the countries that negotiated the JCPOA “not only will lose the JCPOA, but will make other issues more complicated and more difficult to resolve. If we lose the JCPOA, we will face another nuclear crisis,” he warned.
“For the Europeans or the world community, when we talk about maintaining the JCPOA and saving it, it’s not a choice between the Iranian or the US market, it’s not a choice for economic cooperation: it’s a choice between having security or insecurity,” he added.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/iranian-official-we-may-leave-nuclear-deal-if-banks-dont-come-to-iran/
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