Advisor to Iran's Leader: The U.S. Has Violated Three Clauses of the JCPOA

The advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in international affairs announced that Iran's Foreign Minister has recently accused the U.S. of 'violating' clauses 26, 27, and 28 of the Vienna nuclear agreement in a letter to the EU's foreign policy chief. Ali Akbar Velayati stated in an interview with the IRIB news agency published on Tuesday, June 30, that 'the Europeans have also confirmed that the JCPOA has been violated by the U.S.' This member of the Joint Commission overseeing the JCPOA emphasized that the U.S. Senate's resolution regarding a new sanctions package against the Islamic Republic 'definitely contradicts the spirit and text of the JCPOA.' He did not mention the date of the Foreign Minister's letter or other details. However, three days prior to these statements, the state news agency IRNA reported, citing 'an informed Iranian official,' that the EU, Russia, and China do not consider the U.S. Senate's sanctions resolution to be a violation of the Vienna nuclear agreement. Additionally, no statements from European officials confirming Velayati's claims have been published. The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly on June 25 in favor of a new sanctions plan against the Islamic Republic, known as the 'Countering Iran's Destabilizing Activities Act.' This plan imposes mandatory sanctions on any individual or entity associated with Iran's ballistic missile program and also on commercial parties involved with this program. This plan will become law after being approved by the House of Representatives and signed by the U.S. President. The Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission has stated that it has approved a plan to counter the Senate's resolution, which must be voted on in the Parliament's open session. While some Iranian officials have described the U.S. Senate's resolution as a 'violation' of the Vienna nuclear agreement, Hamid Baidi-Nejad, Iran's ambassador to London and a former member of the nuclear negotiation team, stated on June 27 in a note that the inconsistency of the U.S. Senate's resolution with the Vienna nuclear agreement 'requires careful expert examination' and should not be reacted to 'hastily.' Previously, Iran's Foreign Minister had written letters to Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, regarding the implementation of the Vienna nuclear agreement by the U.S. For instance, in December 2016, Zarif called for the formation of a joint commission of the JCPOA to address the extension of the U.S. sanctions law 'ISA.' After the implementation of the Vienna nuclear agreement, it was announced that a joint commission composed of Iran and the 5+1 countries, led and coordinated by the EU's foreign policy chief, would continue to 'monitor and supervise the full and effective implementation of the JCPOA.' Since the implementation of the JCPOA, this joint commission has met several times, with major topics discussed including the sale of Iran's heavy water, issues faced by European banks in participating in Iran, and also the proposal of 'five or six serious cases' by Iran regarding the 'violation of the spirit of the JCPOA' by the U.S.