Hassan Rouhani: Staying in the JCPOA Without Utilizing Its Benefits Is Not Possible

The President of Iran, in a conversation with his French counterpart, spoke about a "time limit for providing practical solutions" to preserve the JCPOA and threatened that "if Iran cannot utilize the benefits of this agreement, staying in it will practically not be possible." Meanwhile, Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, told Hassan Rouhani in a phone call on Tuesday, June 22, that Tehran must "without any ambiguity" fulfill its commitments under the JCPOA. Mr. Macron's office stated in a release published by Reuters that "the President emphasized the request of France, Britain, Germany, Russia, and China to continue the Vienna agreement in all areas." He informed Hassan Rouhani that "progress has been made on our side" and he hopes that "the Iranian side will also fulfill its commitments without any ambiguity." European countries, especially France, Britain, and Germany, have announced that they are trying to ensure that as long as Tehran remains committed to this agreement, it can benefit from its advantages after the United States withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran. The European Union states that it is looking for solutions to guarantee European companies' investments in Iran and their immunity against future U.S. sanctions. Meanwhile, Hassan Rouhani welcomed Europe's position on preserving the JCPOA in his phone call with Mr. Macron on Tuesday, while also calling for "practical and tangible actions and solutions" to "compensate for Iran's benefits from staying" in this agreement. He also referred to the "time limit for providing practical solutions" by the remaining countries in the JCPOA, threatening that "if Iran cannot utilize the benefits of this agreement, staying in it will practically not be possible." Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, had previously mentioned a 60-day deadline for the remaining countries in the JCPOA to provide "guarantees" regarding "preserving Iran's interests" if it remains in the JCPOA. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, has also set seven conditions for Iran to remain in the JCPOA. These include "issuing a resolution against the U.S. in the UN Security Council," "not mentioning Iran's missile program and regional actions in negotiations," "guaranteeing trade with Iran by European banks," "guaranteeing the full sale of Iran's oil," "compensating for past breaches of commitment," and "countering U.S. sanctions." Regarding his seventh condition, he stated that if the Europeans delay in responding to the demands, Iran reserves the right to resume nuclear activities. In his speech on June 4, Ayatollah Khamenei ordered the Atomic Energy Organization to prepare the necessary arrangements to reach 190,000 SWU of uranium enrichment "currently within the framework of the JCPOA." Iran's enrichment capacity is currently about 6,000 SWU. Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Foreign Minister, stated on June 10 that "the European Union has made progress in taking measures to protect its trade relations with Iran, but these measures are not sufficient." Reuters reported on June 16 that several European ministers had written a letter requesting exemptions for foreign companies from Iran sanctions. The signatories of this letter identified several key economic sectors and requested the United States to exempt companies active in these sectors from sanctions. These sectors include pharmaceuticals and healthcare, energy, automotive, civilian aerospace, infrastructure, and banking. Meanwhile, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, stated on Tuesday during a visit to South Africa that in this meeting, all remaining JCPOA members "expressed their commitment to take necessary actions to ensure Iran's economic guarantees under the JCPOA." He added, "Of course, we have not yet received the necessary operational package, but both in the European Union and with our Russian and Chinese partners, work is ongoing on this package." Meanwhile, Mr. Macron informed Hassan Rouhani in their phone call on Tuesday that a meeting of the foreign ministers of the remaining parties in the JCPOA will be held in Vienna within a week or two. French diplomatic sources have indicated that this meeting is likely to take place on July 4. Despite negotiations between Iran and the remaining countries in the JCPOA, in recent days and weeks, major companies such as Total, Maersk, Peugeot, General Electric, Honeywell, Boeing, Lukoil, Reliance, Davor Corporation, Siemens, Mazda, and Hyundai have announced that they are halting cooperation with Iran due to fears of U.S. sanctions.