Russia, France: Iran nuclear deal cannot be revised

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have discussed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal over the phone, highlighting the need to implement the landmark agreement and protecting it from unilateral revisions.

Macron called Putin on Thursday to ask him about the results of his high-profile visit to Tehran the day before.

“In this connection, the two leaders pointed to the need to precisely implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for Iran’s nuclear program. They stressed that a unilateral revision of this important agreement would be unacceptable,” the Kremlin press service said in a statement.

Under the JCPOA, Tehran agreed to limit certain parts of its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions.

While former US President Barack Obama hailed the deal as one of the highlights of his carrier, his successor, Donald Trump, has blasted it as an “embarrassment.”

Trump refused to certify Iran’s commitment to the deal last month, calling on Congress to fix its “flaws.”

The US Congress now has less than 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran.

This is while the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday once again reiterated Iran’s adherence to the nuclear agreement, stressing that UN inspectors are facing no problems in their verification efforts.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in late October that the US administration has been making efforts to prevent Iran from enjoying the advantages of the JCPOA, stressing that such bids contradict Articles 26, 28 and 29 of the nuclear accord.