Iraqchi: Remaining JCPOA Members Are Planning to Compensate for US Withdrawal

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs says that the remaining European countries in the JCPOA are planning to compensate for the US withdrawal from the agreement. According to Abbas Araqchi, 'JCPOA members are trying to design operational solutions so that unilateral US sanctions do not affect the successful implementation of the JCPOA.' He did not provide further details but added that Iran is designing 'solutions to keep cooperation pathways open' in collaboration with the European Union, Russia, China, and other countries considered 'trade partners' of Tehran. A few days earlier, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister also mentioned that during negotiations between Iran and Europe, 'new ideas' for establishing a financial system for trade interactions between the two sides were proposed. Although he did not refer to the details of these 'new ideas and solutions' in an interview with Japan's Kyodo News, he stated that these ideas were 'related to managing this system and registering it in Europe.' The European Union has announced its plan to establish a special mechanism for non-dollar transactions between European companies and Iran, but this plan, which was supposed to be implemented from November 4, is still caught up in finding a host country for this mechanism. Islamic Republic officials, including Araqchi, consider the direct threats to European companies from Brian Hook, the US Special Representative for Iran, as the main reason for European countries' refusal to host this special financial mechanism. According to Araqchi, 'Tehran still benefits from some advantages of the JCPOA, but if the necessary time passes and it does not benefit from this agreement, it will not remain in it for even one day.' Meanwhile, he had previously stated that Tehran's benefit from the nuclear agreement 'JCPOA' was 'close to zero' due to the return of US sanctions. The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization has also warned the European Union that Tehran's patience regarding the Union's promises to continue oil transactions despite US sanctions is running out. Ali Akbar Salehi stated that if Iran does not benefit from the economic advantages of the JCPOA, it may resume uranium enrichment to a purity of 20 percent. The United States withdrew from the nuclear agreement with Iran on May 8 of this year and reinstated the sanctions that had been lifted as a result of the JCPOA in two rounds in August and November. These sanctions have severely impacted Iran's economy, reducing the country's oil sales by up to one million barrels. Despite the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, Russia, China, and the European Union have stated that as long as Tehran fulfills its commitments, they will remain committed to the JCPOA. However, their promises regarding Iran's benefits from remaining in this agreement have not yet been operationalized.