World reacts to Iran's decision to abandon parts of nuclear deal - Aljazeera.com

Iran has announced it will resume high-level enrichment of uranium if world powers do not keep their promises under a 2015 nuclear agreement.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that the remaining signatories - the United Kingdom, France, Germany, China and Russia - had 60 days to implement their promises to protect Iran's oil and banking sectors from US sanctions.

He also announced that Iran would roll back some of its commitments under the deal.

Under the deal, signed in Vienna, Iran scaled back its uranium enrichment programme and promised not to pursue nuclear weapons.

The latest move came a year to the date United States President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the agreement.

Starting today, Iran does not keep its enriched uranium and produced heavy water limited. The EU/E3+2 will face Iran's further actions if they can not fulfill their obligations within the next 60 days and secure Iran's interests. Win-Win conditions will be accepted.

— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) May 8, 2019

Since, the US has restored crippling economic sanctions on Iran, even as Tehran continued to abide by the accord, according to UN inspectors.

Here's a round-up of statements from around the world:

Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the situation surrounding the fate of the 2015 Iran nuclear accord has been complicated by "irresponsible behaviour" of Washington.

His remarks come before a meeting scheduled with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Moscow on Wednesday.

Lavrov said they would discuss the "unacceptable situation" that has been exacerbated by the US.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin remained committed to the agreement and that there were no alternatives "at the moment" to the deal. 

"Putin has repeatedly spoken about the consequences of ill-considered steps towards Iran, meaning the decision taken by Washington" to reimpose sanctions, Peskov said.

He said Russia would work with European countries to maintain the "continued viability" of the nuclear deal and that it was too early to discuss the possibility of Russia joining sanctions against Tehran.

"Putin has said that it is ill-conceived and arbitrary decisions that put unreasonable pressure on Iran and cause the adverse steps that we are facing."

China

China called on all parties to uphold the Iranian nuclear accord after Tehran said it would end curbs on its uranium enrichment stockpile unless other powers helped it bypass renewed US sanctions.

"Maintaining and implementing the comprehensive agreement is the shared responsibility of all parties," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang at a regular press briefing.

"We call on all relevant parties to exercise restraint, strengthen dialogue, and avoid escalating tensions," he said, adding that China "resolutely opposes" unilateral US sanctions against Iran.

China is one of the six parties that signed the 2015 deal to lift nuclear-related sanctions on Iran.

Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed not to allow Iran to acquire nuclear arms after Tehran’s announcement.

"We will not allow Iran to achieve nuclear weaponry. We will continue to fight those who would kill us," Netanyahu said.

Israel's prime minister has been an outspoken critic of the 2015 agreement. He welcomed Trump's withdrawal from the deal last year. Netanyahu considers Iran to be Israel's greatest threat.

Netanyahu said Israel "will continue to fight those who seek to take our lives, and we will thrust our roots even deeper into the soil of our homeland".

Iran has denied ever seeking nuclear weapons, insisting its atomic programme is for entirely peaceful purposes.

European Union

The European Union is in an "assessment phase" after Rouhani informed the other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran will partially pull out of the agreement, a senior EU official said on condition of anonymity.

"The contents of the messages sent have to be analysed," he noted, adding that consultations would take place in the coming days between the remaining signatories of the deal.

EU foreign ministers will have the first opportunity to discuss the developments at regular talks in Brussels on Monday. Any EU decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran would have to be taken by all member states.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/world-reacts-iran-decision-abandon-parts-nuclear-deal-190508102055343.html

2019-05-08 10:49:00Z
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