Tillerson: Working Groups Have Started to Address 'Flaws' in the JCPOA

Rex Tillerson, the U.S. Secretary of State, stated that joint working groups of the European Union and the United States have begun addressing what he referred to as flaws in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). According to a Reuters report, these groups are set to discuss what changes should be made to the JCPOA and how they should be implemented. Mr. Tillerson, who is in Warsaw, mentioned on Saturday, January 27, at the end of his week-long trip to Europe, that he has garnered the support of Britain, France, and Germany—three members of the P5+1 negotiating with Iran—to work on changes to the JCPOA. President Donald Trump stated on January 12 that he would extend the suspension of sanctions against Iran under the JCPOA for the last time and warned that if the 'disastrous flaws' of this agreement are not resolved, Washington will withdraw from the JCPOA. The U.S. Secretary of State told reporters, 'It is always darkest before the dawn. The working groups are now beginning their work to agree on principles, what issues need to be addressed, and how to compel Iran to respond to the issues raised.' Iran and six world powers, including the U.S., Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany, reached an agreement in July 2015 to resolve Iran's nuclear program and lift international sanctions against it. Under this program, Iran agreed to halt many of its nuclear activities. However, despite the International Atomic Energy Agency's confirmation and the EU's support for the JCPOA, the Trump administration claims that Tehran has not adhered to the 'spirit of the JCPOA' and that its ballistic missile activities and interference in the internal affairs of Middle Eastern countries have disrupted peace and stability in the region. Last month, Trump set four conditions for continued U.S. participation in the JCPOA: inspections of all Iranian sites requested by international inspectors, guarantees against approaching nuclear weapons, the permanence of the JCPOA, and restrictions on Iran's long-range missile program; as Trump stated, long-range missiles and Iran's nuclear weapons program are 'inseparable.' Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that they will not accept any changes to the JCPOA and are not willing to negotiate on this matter. In his remarks on Saturday, Tillerson said that the nuclear agreement with Iran is only a 'small' part of U.S. policy towards the Middle East, and Washington has broader concerns regarding other issues, including Tehran's support for the Houthis in Yemen and Iran's arms shipments to other militant groups in the region. He stated, 'Our working group also intends to identify broader areas of commonality with Europe to change Iran's malign behavior.' The U.S. Secretary of State announced the formation of these working groups during his visit to London last week, saying, 'I believe the European troika has a common viewpoint that there are certain areas (in the nuclear agreement) or certain behaviors of Iran that need to be addressed.' Following these remarks, Boris Johnson, the British Foreign Secretary, also stated that London is committed to working 'collectively' with its partners 'to contain those activities. We believe we can do this; I think we can do this together.' He emphasized, however, that 'it is important that we proceed in parallel and do not undermine the foundations of the Iranian nuclear agreement.' While European countries have mentioned negotiating with the U.S. to hear its concerns about the flaws in the Iranian nuclear agreement and the possibility of imposing sanctions on Iran's missile program, Russia has opposed renegotiating the JCPOA, stating that the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear agreement signifies the end of the JCPOA.