Leader of Islamic Ummah and Oppressed Imam Khamenei Declares Requirements for Continued Implementation of N. Deal with Europe

Addressing a meeting with former and present Iranian officials here in Tehran on Wednesday evening, the Iranian Leader reminded defiance of undertakings by Britain, France and Germany back in 2005 when Iran embarked on a voluntary implementation of the additional protocol to the NPT and halted nuclear activities, and said the European trio “showed a major disloyalty; they made a promise in 2004-2005, but defied. Now they should prove that today they won’t show the dishonesty and disloyalty of that day”.

Ayatollah Khamenei asked officials not to repeat a single mistake twice, and cautioned, “Europe has displayed that it accompanies the US in most sensitive cases.”

He further blasted the Europeans for keeping mum about the US frequent violations of the 2015 nuclear deal in the last two years, and said “the EU is required to make up for this silence”.

Ayatollah Khamenei reminded that the US has violated UN Security Council Resolution 2231 that accompanies the nuclear deal, and said hence “Europe should issue a resolution against the US violation” of the agreement.

He said “the EU should also undertake to avoid a discussion of Iran’s missile and regional power”.

The Iranian Leader reminded that the nuclear talks were aimed at the removal of the sanctions, “many of which were not lifted, while they have been recently threatening to revive the sanctions desipte the emphasis of the UN Security Council resolution” to the otherwise.

The Leader further underlined that the EU should also pledge “to take action against any kind of sanction against the Islamic Republic and stand against the US sanctions on the basis of a clear-cut position”.

“Europe is also needed to ensure Iran’s full crude sales,” he said, and explained, “In case the Americans manage to strike a blow at our oil sales, (we) should be able to sell whatever volume of oil that we want. The Europeans should compensate (for the loss in crude sales) in a guaranteed manner and buy Iran’s crude.”

Ayatollah Khamenei also underscored that the EU banks should also ensure trade with Iran, and said, “We don’t want a fight with these three countries, but (we) don’t trust them either because of their past record.”

He further warned that “if Europeans delay in complying with our demands, then Iran would preserve its right for resuming nuclear activities”. “Once we observe that the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) produces no fruit, then one way would be reviving the operations that have been shut down.”

His remarks came as Iran and the EU are in talks on how to preserve the nuclear deal after the US discarded the agreement in a blatant violation of its endorsed undertakings and despite international warnings.

US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that the US would no longer remain part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and promised to re-impose the highest level of economic sanctions against Iran in response to Tehran’s development of its nuclear program.

After Trump’s declaration, the Iranian government issued a statement, calling the US withdrawal as “unlawful”. The statement underlined Iran’s prerequisites for continuing the deal with the five world powers after the US pullout of the agreement.

“Iran, as a country that has remained committed to its legal obligations, will pursue the US Government’s decision to withdraw from the JCPOA as provided by the mechanisms and provisions of the accord, and if the US withdrawal is not fully compensated and the full interests of the Iranian people are not met and guaranteed – as stated in the accord and as outlined by Iran’s Leader on 9 May – it will exercise its legal right to take whatever reciprocal measures it deems expedient. Other parties to the JCPOA, and especially its three European signatories, must take necessary action to safeguard the accord and to implement their commitments – which they proved incapable of fully performing even while the US was nominally a party to the deal, due to the obstructions by the Trump Administration – and to proceed from giving pledges to taking practical action without any preconditions,” it said.

“None of the provisions or timeframes within the JCPOA, which were the subject of twelve years of negotiations, are negotiable in any manner. The US, which has through its meddling and erroneous policies ignited extremism, terrorism, destruction, war and child killing in our region, is in no position to issue any diktat about the Islamic Republic of Iran’s lawful presence within its own region nor its effective support for the peoples of Syria and Iraq in their endeavor to fight extremists. The US and its allies, which through their support for the regime of Saddam Hussein, including equipping it with chemical weapons and the most advanced military equipment while blocking Iran’s access to any means of defense victimized the Iranian people for eight years, and currently turning our region into a powder keg through their sale of hundreds of billions of dollars of useless advanced weaponry devouring the financial resources of the region, are in no position to impose restrictions on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s lawful means of defense, including defensive ballistic missiles which have been designed to carry conventional weapons based on the bitter experiences of the war with the regime of Saddam Hussein. Indeed, such efforts explicitly violate the principles of international law, and the Islamic Republic of Iran’s legitimate right to self-defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter,” it added.

“As announced by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran on 8 May, the Foreign Minister has been tasked with the duty of taking the necessary measures to obtain required guarantees from the remaining parties to the JCPOA as well as Iran’s other economic partners, and to immediately report the results of this mission. Meanwhile, the President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has been tasked with taking all necessary steps in preparation for Iran to pursue industrial-scale enrichment without any restrictions, using the results of the latest research and development of Iran’s brave nuclear scientists.”

“The people of Iran will with calm and confidence continue their path towards progress and development and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has foreseen all necessary measures to facilitate this under any circumstances,” the statement continued.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a secure and powerful state, which derives its security and economic development from within, relying on the prudent participation and resilience of its brave and civilized people, seeks constructive and dignified engagement with the world, and as shown by its implementation of the JCPOA despite the United States’ continuous violations, is a trustworthy and committed partner for all who are prepared to cooperate on the basis of shared interests and mutual respect,” it reiterated.

Also, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani underlined on Monday that his country would never renegotiate the 2015 nuclear deal, adding that Tehran would revise cooperation with the Europeans if they failed to defend the interests of both sides.

“The international nuclear agreement has specified how Iran’s nuclear program should continue and the closed case of Iran’s nuclear negotiations will not reopen in any conditions,” Shamkhani said in response to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s Monday remarks against Iran’s nuclear program.

On Monday morning, Pompeo gave a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington: “After the Deal: A New Iran Strategy.” Over 26 minutes, Pompeo articulated a strategy that can best be summarized as, “Do everything we say, or we will crush you”, days after the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal.

Meantime, Shamkhani described the negotiations between Iran and the European states on implementation of the nuclear deal after the US withdrawal as a test for Europe to prove their independence against the US dictated policies, and said if they cannot or do not want to defend their and the Islamic Republic’s interests against the illegal and irrational approaches of Trump then “continued cooperation with them is useless”.

He referred to the US officials’ allegations against Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities, and said Washington which has used atomic bombs against the Japanese people and has equipped the child-killer Israeli regime with such weapons, is not competent to opine on Iran’s nuclear program.

Also, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said on Tuesday that Tehran is capable of and prepared to increase the amount and level of its uranium enrichment.

“We have done the needed preparations in different fields to return to the pre-nuclear deal era, but we hope never to reach that point,” Salehi told reporters.

“If we decide to develop certain operations, including enrichment, we will be ready to increase production or (level of) enrichment, for instance,” he added.