Iran urges P4+1 to take practical measures
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi stressed the importance of P4+1 commitments and called on the Europe to take practical acts in oil and gas fields.
Araqchi made the remarks in a meeting with UK's Political Director Richard Moore. During the meeting both sides discussed bilateral ties and regional issues.
Araqchi emphasized the importance of P4+1 commitments stipulated in four statements of the JCPOA joint commission after US withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal.
He urged Europe not to undermine Iran’s determination for reducing its commitments gradually.
Iran has shown enough self-restraint, but Europe has not taken advantage of its opportunities, he noted.
Meanwhile, Moore underlined UK’s commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and its efforts for implementing the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX).
He noted that the UK will continue its efforts to fulfill Iran demands.
Earlier the UK diplomatic mission in a message referred to Moore’s visit to Tehran, saying: “Important visit to Tehran today, by the UK’s Political Director, @UKPolDirRichard.”
It added “the UK will support the JCPOA, as long as Iran meets its nuclear commitments in full. Useful discussions on regional security #Yemen #Afghanistan, and bilateral issues.”
INSTEX was adopted by foreign ministers of the European trio on the sidelines of a European Union summit in the Romanian capital Bucharest on January 1.
INSTEX has been registered at the address of France's Economy and Finance Ministry in Paris. German banker Per Fischer has been chosen for a period of six months to run it.
Meanwhile earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a message referred to US bullying toward the world, saying the European Union should uphold obligations, including normalization of economic relations.
'EU statement today is why JCPOA is where it is: the US has bullied Europe—and rest of world—for a year and the EU can only express “regret”, Zarif wrote in his Twitter account on Thursday.
He added: 'Instead of demanding that Iran unilaterally abide by a multilateral accord, EU should uphold obligations - including normalization of economic ties.'
EU Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini together with foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK issued a joint statement on Thursday expressing full support for Iran's nuclear deal, also known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
'We remain fully committed to the preservation and full implementation of the JCPOA, a key achievement of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture, which is in the security interest of all,' the statement reads.
The statement comes a day after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced Tehran suspends some of its commitments under the deal.
Exactly one year after the US unilateral exit from the JCPOA, President Rouhani said on Wednesday that Iran will give a 60-day moratorium to the state parties to the deal to remedy their breaches and restore Iran's interests enshrined by the international accord.
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