Zarif: America's Score on JCPOA Implementation is Low

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, accused the United States of 'betrayal' in implementing the Vienna nuclear agreement while also calling for 'benefiting' from the results of this agreement, stating that no one in Iran 'gains from proving that the JCPOA is not being implemented well.' In an interview with the IRIB news agency published on Monday, July 18, he emphasized: 'If we want to grade the JCPOA, it would certainly receive a very good score considering the time frame and international conditions, but if we want to grade the Americans' implementation, it would probably receive a low score.' Zarif also considered 'benefiting' from the Vienna nuclear agreement to require 'national consensus' and added: 'Today, no one in our country gains from proving that the JCPOA is not being implemented well.' He stressed that 'we can give the JCPOA a score of 5, 15, or 95, and if we use any of these scores together, the JCPOA can provide a very good basis for our country,' but 'if we do not use even that score of 5 or 95, it will turn into below zero.' Iranian Foreign Ministry officials have previously protested against Congressional resolutions and actions by the U.S. Treasury against Iran, while also stating that the Vienna nuclear agreement has not been violated by the U.S. However, some political groups in Iran have repeatedly spoken of the U.S. violating this agreement, with Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran, accusing the U.S. of 'violating' the agreement without providing details. The accusation of U.S. obstruction in the implementation of the JCPOA comes as U.S. officials reject this claim, stating they have acted 'beyond their commitments' in the nuclear agreement. The Iranian Foreign Ministry, in a report on the implementation of the Vienna nuclear agreement, described the impact of U.S. human rights and missile sanctions on the lifted nuclear program sanctions as an 'undeniable reality' and admitted that currency exchanges 'still face limitations.' Meanwhile, Zarif pointed out that many banks have established relations with Iran but noted that some banks 'still fear American regulations.' He added: 'This fear is more of a psychological nature and stems from the inherent conservatism of financial and banking institutions rather than from regulations that prevent cooperation with Iran.' In recent months, Zarif has repeatedly urged the U.S. to eliminate 'psychological barriers' regarding European banks' cooperation with Iran and to assure European banks that they will not be penalized for cooperating with Iran. The U.S. Secretary of State and his counterparts from Britain, Germany, France, along with the EU's foreign policy chief, on May 30, issued a statement urging banks and traders not to overlook legal investment opportunities in Iran. These countries have also expressed readiness to resolve doubts in this regard. Some Iranian government officials, including Abbas Araghchi, Deputy Foreign Minister, have stated that besides the concerns of European banks about sanctions, 'weak financial discipline' among Iranian banks in not cooperating with European banks has 'not been ineffective,' and the Central Bank is working to resolve this issue. In another part of his remarks, Zarif deemed the recent positions of the UN Secretary-General regarding Iran's missile program as 'irrelevant' and added: 'Unfortunately, the UN Secretary-General has not left a very good record for himself in recent years.' He emphasized that the Secretary-General and the UN Secretariat had no role in the Vienna nuclear agreement and are unaware of the details of the negotiations. Zarif stressed that Ban Ki-moon should not cause 'destruction' of the Vienna nuclear agreement by entering 'unprofessional' into the issues. Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, in a report to the members of the Security Council, stated that Iran's missile tests are 'inconsistent with the spirit' of the nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, and members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expressed concern last week about Iran's missile programs. Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, considered the timing of these statements to indicate a 'conspiracy,' and Abbas Araghchi reported that Iran has expressed its 'strong protest' against Ban Ki-moon's recent remarks.