Kamali: Staying in the JCPOA is Better than Leaving It

The spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran says that the organization has presented "possible scenarios from the most severe reactions to the least" to the JCPOA monitoring board, but staying in the agreement reduces the severity of sanctions compared to the previous period. Behrouz Kamalvandi, in an interview with ISNA published on August 13, states, "If Iran stays in the JCPOA, the impact of sanctions will not be like the imposition of sanctions in the previous period." This Iranian official refers to the extensive sanctions that were enacted against Iran during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency. Some of these sanctions were imposed by the United Nations and others by the United States and several other countries. After the July 2015 agreement between Barack Obama's administration, Iran, and five other countries, these sanctions were lifted, but Donald Trump's administration announced in May that it would withdraw from the nuclear agreement. Behrouz Kamalvandi told ISNA that ultimately, the "system's view" on whether to stay in the JCPOA or not may be different, but from his perspective, staying in the agreement is better: "The U.S. exit from the JCPOA and Iran's policy in this regard has created a rift in the U.S. and has also created a divide between the U.S. and Europe... If we exit the JCPOA without sufficient justification, we will lose all of this." He also added that Europe does not fully have the capacity to compensate for the damages caused by the return of U.S. sanctions. The European Union, unlike the United States, has called for the preservation of the JCPOA. Iranian and European officials are also trying to reach agreements while U.S. oil and financial sanctions are on the verge of returning. However, Mr. Kamalvandi states, "Unfortunately, this is a reality; the world economy minus the U.S. is not conceivable given its role in the monetary, banking, industry, and technology systems of the world." He reiterated the remarks made three months ago by Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, emphasizing that "thinking that Europe will confront the U.S. for our sake; no, they will not confront it." The first round of U.S. sanctions went into effect on August 7 and targeted Iran's access to dollars, trade in metals, coal, industrial software, and the automotive industry. The U.S. has announced that in the next phase of sanctions, which will begin on November 4, it will target Iran's oil industry and is currently working to reduce Iran's oil imports by its allies to "zero." Donald Trump has described the JCPOA as one of the "worst agreements he has seen" and has always been one of its opponents. Mr. Trump claims that this agreement has not prevented Iran's other activities such as developing its missile program, "destructive activities," and "terrorist" actions or Tehran's actions in the region. However, he has expressed readiness for new negotiations. Iranian officials have rejected the U.S. accusations regarding "supporting terrorism," stating that their missile program is defensive and that they do not interfere in the affairs of other countries. Mr. Zarif, on August 11, in response to a question from a Tasnim reporter about a possible meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, stated that no meeting is scheduled.