Tehran and Moscow's Reaction to US Doubts About Iran's Compliance with the JCPOA

Following Donald Trump's doubts about Iran's adherence to the spirit of the nuclear agreement, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif once again accused the US of violating both the text and spirit of the JCPOA, while the Russian Foreign Minister expressed regret over the US's doubts regarding Iran's compliance. On Thursday, the US President criticized the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, stating that he personally believes the Iranians are not acting in accordance with the agreement and do not adhere to its spirit. Trump, a staunch critic of the nuclear deal, had promised during his election campaign to abandon it and warned that if the Iranians do not comply, "severe actions await them." In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the US President on Twitter of seeking to cancel the nuclear agreement but wanting to blame Iran out of fear of isolation. He added that "malice is at the top of the issues violating the spirit and text of the JCPOA by the US." Since Trump took office, the US has confirmed Iran's compliance with the JCPOA twice, although it has simultaneously imposed new sanctions against the Islamic Republic due to some "destabilizing behaviors" of Iran that the US believes contradict the spirit of the nuclear agreement. The US also believes that since Iran is supposed to participate in establishing peace and stability in the region and globally under the nuclear agreement, some of Iran's actions that undermine regional and international peace and stability violate the spirit of this agreement. Although Iranian diplomatic officials do not consider the new sanctions to be in contradiction with the nuclear agreement, recently Hassan Rouhani stated in a meeting with Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, that "the repeated violations of commitments by the US government and the imposition of new sanctions against Iran have had a negative impact on the public opinion of the Iranian people and could be destructive to the implementation of the JCPOA." In this context, Mohammad Javad Zarif also told Mogherini that Trump is trying to destroy the JCPOA "at Iran's expense," and "Europe must be vigilant in this regard." On Friday, the Russian Foreign Minister also reacted to the US's doubts about Iran's compliance with the nuclear agreement, calling it regrettable. According to reports, Sergey Lavrov stated that he considers what was done to reach the nuclear agreement with Iran to be among the most successful negotiations. He noted that despite the US State Department's confirmation of Iran's compliance with the nuclear agreement, the Trump administration continues to describe this agreement as wrong and incorrect, and it is regrettable that an agreement of such quality is being questioned. Recently, the US Secretary of State emphasized the violation of the spirit of the nuclear agreement by Iran and stated that his country is working with its allies to ensure that Tehran fully implements this agreement. Rex Tillerson also mentioned that he has differences with Trump on issues such as the JCPOA and how to utilize it. A while ago, the American publication Foreign Policy reported that Trump was dissatisfied with his State Department regarding the JCPOA and had assigned a group of trusted White House staff to prepare a "potential case" to prove Iran's non-compliance with the text of the JCPOA. This publication claimed, citing three unnamed sources, that Trump had previously "specifically asked Tillerson to prepare the groundwork for declaring Iran's non-compliance, and Tillerson failed to do so." According to this report, the mission of the recently appointed group in the White House is to "ensure that this does not happen again within the next 90-day deadline." The US government must report to Congress every 90 days regarding Iran's compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA, and the next report from the US government regarding the confirmation or non-confirmation of Iran's compliance with the JCPOA will be presented in early autumn.