Kamal Kharrazi: The JCPOA Has Not Been Properly Implemented Due to American Breaches

Kamal Kharrazi, head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, criticized the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Tuesday, August 5, accusing the U.S. of 'breach of trust and pressure on other countries.' In an interview with IRIB News Agency, Kharrazi stated, 'The reality is that due to the breaches by the Americans and the unwritten pressures they have exerted on other countries, the JCPOA has not been properly implemented.' He emphasized that the Americans influence the performance of the JCPOA with their 'unwritten' tools. The former foreign minister noted that Iran has fallen behind the international financial system due to sanctions over the years and stressed the need for the Central Bank and other banks to compensate for this and establish economic relations with the world. Concurrently, Hossein Dehghan, Iran's Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, considered banking issues 'unrelated' to the JCPOA and linked them to sanctions during the U.S. embassy occupation. He stated on Monday evening, August 4, in Hamadan, 'If there were no JCPOA, every six months 20% of our oil sales would be prevented, but today those who sanctioned us buy our oil, although we have problems with money transfers, which has nothing to do with the JCPOA.' The Iranian defense minister further described the U.S. as the 'Great Satan, deceitful and cunning' and regarded Iran as the winner of the nuclear negotiations. Dehghan asserted that adherence to the JCPOA is a formal declaration by Ayatollah Khamenei, stating, 'Everything accepted in the JCPOA has been with the system's approval, and no one dares to act secretly or covertly, and this has not happened.' He emphasized that Iran will not violate the provisions of the JCPOA under any circumstances unless, according to him, the other party violates the JCPOA. On the other hand, Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran on international affairs and a member of the oversight board for the implementation of the JCPOA, also accused the U.S. of 'breach of trust in implementing the JCPOA' and stated, 'Our hands are not tied in this regard, and we expect other members of the 1+5 group to fulfill their duties.' Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, also expressed regret on July 30 over the recent report by the UN Secretary-General regarding Security Council Resolution 2231, warning the U.S. government, House of Representatives, and Senate that 'the provocative actions against the nuclear agreement have reached a point where Iran has no choice but to confront.' The JCPOA, signed on July 23 last year between Iran and the 1+5 group, has critics in both Iran and the U.S. Following the implementation of the JCPOA last January, it was agreed that in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions, Iran would also limit its nuclear activities. However, over the ten months since the JCPOA's implementation began, some Iranian officials have criticized the 'lack of cooperation' from some major financial institutions and banks with Iranian banks. Abbas Araqchi, head of Iran's nuclear negotiating team, announced on Tuesday, July 29, at the end of the fourth meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission with the presence of American diplomats and other countries in Vienna, that the negotiating parties agreed to remove the barriers to banking transactions with Iran.