Iran threatens to ‘reconsider’ IAEA commitments

Tehran: Iran warned Sunday it may “seriously reconsider” its commitments to the UN atomic watchdog if European parties to a nuclear deal trigger a dispute mechanism that could lead to sanctions.

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The 2015 nuclear accord has been unravelling since last year when the United States unilaterally withdrew from it and began reimposing sanctions on Iran.

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The three European countries still party to the deal – Britain, France and Germany – have been trying to salvage it but their efforts have so far borne little fruit.

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“If they use the trigger (mechanism), Iran would be forced to seriously reconsider some of its commitments to” the International Atomic Energy Agency, said parliament speaker Ali Larijani.

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“If they think doing so is more beneficial to them, they can go ahead,” he told a news conference in Tehran.

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In May, one year after the US pullout, Iran began retaliating by scaling back its commitments to the deal – known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

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Following its latest step back this month, the European parties warned the JCPOA’s dispute resolution mechanism could be triggered if Iran continued down that path.

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It covers various stages that could take several months to unfold, but the issue could eventually end up before the UN Security Council, which could decide to reimpose sanctions.

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Larijani also suggested the current deadlock with the United States could be “fixed” if Iran’s arch-foe learns from the past.

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Ahead of the 2015 deal, then US president Barack “Obama wrote a letter and said that I accept Iran’s enrichment, now let’s negotiate,” he said.

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“If the American officials have just as much wisdom, to use past experiences, then they can fix this issue.”

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The JCPOA set out restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of Western sanctions.

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