Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday criticized the European Union’s stance from Tehran’s decision on no longer implementing some parts of the 2015 nuclear deal.
"EU statement today is why JCPOA is where it is: the US has bullied Europe—and rest of world—for a year and EU can only express 'regret'," Zarif tweeted in response to the EU rejecting Tehran's threat to resume nuclear work.
"Instead of demanding that Iran unilaterally abide by a multilateral accord, EU should uphold obligations - including normalization of economic ties,” Agence France Presse quoted him as saying.
The JCPOA, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is the landmark deal between Iran and world powers including the EU and the United States which offered sanctions relief to Tehran for scaling back its nuclear program.
In May 2018 President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal and reinstated unilateral economic sanctions.
On Wednesday Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Iran would no longer implement some parts of the deal and threatened to go further if the remaining sides of the pact failed to deliver sanctions relief to counterbalance Trump's renewed assault on the Iranian economy within 60 days.
EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini and France, Germany and Britain -- the three European signatories to the deal -- on Thursday denounced Iran's threat to restart nuclear work but vowed to save the deal.
Iran wants to bring its nuclear deal with world powers "back on track" after the US unilateral withdrawal, the spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said on Thursday.
"Our goal is to strengthen the JCPOA and bring it back on track," Behrouz Kamalvandi was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Kamalvandi said that Article 26 of JCPOA allows Iran to stop some of its commitments in general or in part if the other parties fail to remain committed to their pledges.
Under the deal, Iran is obliged to send its excess enriched uranium (above 300kg) and its excess heavy water (above 130 tons) to outside the country and is committed to enrich uranium up to 3.67 percent.
