White House: We have not committed to allowing Iran access to the U.S. financial system under the JCPOA

Josh Earnest, the White House spokesman, responded on Friday, April 15, to the critical remarks of the head of Iran's Central Bank, stating that the nuclear agreement, or JCPOA, did not include access for Tehran to the U.S. financial system, and Washington does not consider such a move. Valiollah Seif, the head of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, had said on Friday that the world powers have yet to fulfill their 'commitments' under the nuclear agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). During a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in the U.S., Seif stated that Iran is 'still not connected to the global economy' and emphasized that 'Iran should be allowed to use the U.S. financial system.' According to the Associated Press, the White House spokesman said that Iran is mistaken regarding the lifting of nuclear sanctions and their impact on access to the U.S. financial system or the use of dollars in foreign transactions. Josh Earnest clarified that the Obama administration neither considered this issue nor made any commitments or promises for Iran to gain access to the U.S. financial system based on the nuclear agreement. The spokesman emphasized: 'Access to the U.S. financial system was not part of the agreement, and such a move is not under consideration.' Earnest further added that the nuclear agreement 'not only does not include access to the U.S. system but also does not allow (Iran) U-Turn transactions. We do not allow Iran access to these two options.' The head of Iran's Central Bank also mentioned in his speech on Friday that Tehran continues to face difficulties in accessing its frozen assets. Valiollah Seif stressed that 'Iran has fully adhered to its commitments, but the U.S. has not fulfilled its obligations.' The head of the Central Bank of Iran traveled to the U.S. on Wednesday to participate in the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and met with the U.S. Treasury Secretary. Iran and six world powers reached an agreement on July 14 last year to resolve the dispute over the country's nuclear program by significantly reducing Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international nuclear sanctions against the Islamic Republic. This agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was implemented in January of last year. Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, previously responded to critics of the nuclear agreement within Iran who criticized the failure to lift dollar sanctions, stating: 'The use of dollars or benefiting from U.S. financial systems is subject to the primary sanctions related to the early revolution, which will not be lifted by the JCPOA.' In this context, the unresolved issue of dollar transactions 'will undermine the JCPOA.'