Zarif: Iran's Request for Joint Commission on JCPOA

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stated that he has written to Federica Mogherini, the head of the Joint Commission of the JCPOA, twice regarding the 'breach of trust' by the United States in the nuclear agreement. Following an order from President Hassan Rouhani, he will again request that the extension of the D'Amato sanctions be discussed in this commission. Zarif mentioned that according to the Vienna nuclear agreement (JCPOA), if one member's actions contradict the agreement, the other party can raise the issue in the designated joint commission. He noted that he has written two letters to Mogherini, one of which led to the formation of a joint commission during the UN General Assembly, and the other was sent after the US House of Representatives passed a resolution against Iran. Zarif did not specify which of the US House resolutions the letter referred to. The fifth joint commission of the JCPOA was held at the end of September, led by Abbas Araghchi and Helga Schmid, the Deputy Head of EU Foreign Policy. Iranian officials stated that the slow process of lifting sanctions and the psychological atmosphere remaining from the sanctions were discussed in this commission. President Rouhani had previously stated that all countries told the US that its actions were inconsistent with the nuclear agreement, and the US promised to correct this process. After the US House of Representatives agreed to extend the D'Amato sanctions against Iran, the Senate also extended this law for another 10 years without a single opposing vote. US officials claim that the extension of the sanctions is not contrary to the agreement and that these sanctions have existed since 1996. However, this action has faced anger from Iranian officials, and Rouhani's government has been under severe pressure from various conservative factions to respond to this US action. Meanwhile, the Iranian President instructed the Foreign Minister and the head of the Atomic Energy Organization to take action regarding the 'implementation of the provisions of the JCPOA to address violations.' Hours after the letter's publication, Ali Akbar Velayati, a member of the JCPOA monitoring board, stated that this order 'shows the other party that we will not retreat from our rights.' He added that in the recent meeting of the JCPOA monitoring board, it was decided that the Islamic Republic of Iran would firmly stand against US breaches of trust, and Rouhani is fulfilling his revolutionary duties. The JCPOA monitoring board announced that the implementation of the extension of the 'ISA' law, the Iran sanctions law, is considered a 'serious violation' of this agreement and that 'necessary measures' will be implemented in response. The board is chaired by Hassan Rouhani, with members including Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament; Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister; Hossein Dehghan, the Minister of Defense; Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council; Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization; Saeed Jalili, representative of the Supreme Leader in the Supreme National Security Council; and Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Zarif, who is on a trip to the Far East, was not present at this meeting.