"If the Europeans want to exploit the dispute resolution process in the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), they must prepare themselves to accept its consequences," Mousavi said.
He underlined that the three European countries are taking a measure completely out of weakness and passiveness.
Britain, France, and Germany kickstarted a process that could lead to the United Nations' sanctions being re-imposed on Iran and the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal after triggering the deal’s dispute resolution mechanism.
Mousavi said that the process of resolving the differences in the JCPOA had been started by the Islamic Republic of Iran more than a year ago by sending official letters by (Iran's) Foreign Minister (Mohammad Javad Zarif) to the Coordinator of the Joint Commission of the JCPOA and thus neither a new development based on the process nor in practical terms has occurred.
Mousavi said the reality is that after the US withdrawal from the JCPOA and the return of sanctions that should have been revoked according to the agreement, the JCPOA was placed in an unbalanced and unstable situation. As a result, the Islamic Republic of Iran based on the Article 36, referred the issue to the Joint Commission of the JCPOA as the dispute resolution process started, and the commission during the meetings, held at the levels of political directors and ministers to deal with the issue upon Iran's request, with consensus and emphasis of all JCPOA parties stating that that the main cause of the current state of affairs is the US illegal withdrawal from the JCPOA adopted solutions to remedy the situation.
The foreign ministry spokesman stated that unfortunately over last year, the European parties to the JCPOA failed to take any tangible and serious measures to fulfill their commitments despite the commitments they both made in the JCPOA and explicitly and officially made at the Joint Commission meetings after the US withdrawal. And for the same reason "our country used the regulations envisaged in paragraphs 26 and 36 of the JCPOA and stopped implementing part of its nuclear commitments within five steps at significant intervals.
Mousavi pointed out that in fact the announcement of the start of the dispute resolution process and activating Paragraph 36 of the JCPOA by the European side is made in an atmosphere that this paragraph had been referred to since a long time ago and no new situation will be created.
The senior diplomat, meantime, said that of course if the Europeans - who in their statement claim to have taken this measure with goodwill and with the goal to protect the JCPOA - instead of trying to live up to their commitments and make Iran to benefit from the effects of removing sanctions, based on appendix II of the JCPOA, continue the path of submission to the US or seek to exploit the dispute resolution process at the Joint Commission, they must prepare themselves to accept its consequences, which have already been addressed to them in due course.
Mousavi stipulated that the Islamic Republic of Iran as before is fully prepared to encounter with utmost goodwill any goodwill and constructive efforts to maintain this important international agreement and to support any constructive initiative in this direction. On the other hand, it once again makes it clear for everyone, especially to the three European countries of the JCPOA, that it will respond appropriately with seriousness and decisiveness to any violation of the commitment, bad intention, and unconstructive measures.
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