Zarif Rebukes French Counterpart’s Nonsensical Remarks

Zarif wrote on his Twitter account that Le Drian started his career with selling arms to the Saudi war criminals, and advised him to avoid uttering nonsensical words on Iran.

He stressed that it is France which is destabilizing the region through arms sale to those who murder Yemeni children.

Dear colleague: You kick-started your cabinet career with arms sales to Saudi war criminals. Avoid absurd nonsense about Iran.

Reality check: YOU are destabilizing OUR region. Stop protecting criminals who chainsaw their critics and use YOUR arms to slaughter children in Yemen.

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 17, 2021

Zarif also tweeted that it is the three European governments, namely UK, France and Germany, which have obeyed the US in defiance of their JCPOA commitments.

He went on to say that Iran has remained committed to its JCPOA obligations in spite of the EU failure.

E3 leaders—who rely on signature of OFAC functionaries to carry out their obligations under JCPOA—have done ZILCH to maintain JCPOA.

Remember @EmmanuelMacron‘s stillborn initiative or UK non-payment of court-ordered debt?

JCPOA is alive because of Iran and not E3, @JY_LeDrian.

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 17, 2021

French minister claimed on Saturday that the JCPOA was not enough and there should be talks on Iran’s missile program, too. Le Drian also accused Iran of what he called “destabilizing the region”.

In a relevant development, Britain, France and Germany issued a statement that was published on the website of the British foreign ministry on Saturday. In the statement the three JCPOA members have reacted to the start of metallic uranium production by Iran, saying that there is no “logical justification” for production and usage of metallic uranium by Iran.

The EU3 statement claims that metallic uranium can potentially be used for military purposes, but it does not mention the Europeans’ violation of their JCPOA commitments towards Iran.

It adds that Iran, in accordance with its JCPOA commitments, for 15 years, must refrain from producing metallic uranium and related research and development activities.

The EU troika has asked Iran to end such activities if it is “serious” in its will to preserve the JCPOA and to “return” to its JCPOA commitments. This comes while it is the EU troika which, in a servile manner to the US, have violated all their JCPOA commitments and Iran has implemented all its commitments even after the illegal US withdrawal from the deal.

The Iranian parliamentarians in a meeting on December 1, 2020 ratified the generalities of a bill to adopt strategic measures to remove sanctions against the country and defend the nation’s interests.

The lawmakers, in November, had given the green light to the single-urgency of the strategic motion, but the plan turned into a double-urgency on Sunday after the assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh’s car was targeted by an explosion and machinegun fire in Damavand’s Absard 40 kilometers to the East of Tehran on Friday November 27, 2020.

Under the bill, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) is required to start in two months after the approval of the present bill to produce at least 120 kg of 20%-enriched uranium annually at Fordow nuclear site and store it inside the country, increase the enrichment capacity and production of enriched uranium to at least 500 kg per month, start the installation of centrifuges, gas injection, enrichment, and storage of materials up to proper purity levels within 3 months, via at least 1000 IR-2m centrifuges in the underground part of Shahid Ahmadi Roshan facility in Natanz, transfer any enrichment, research, and development operations of IR-6 centrifuges to the nuclear site of Shahid Ali Mohammadi in Fordow, and start enrichment operation via at least 164 centrifuges and expand it to 1000 by the end of 20 March 2021 (end of the Iranian calendar year) and return the 40 megawatts Arak heavy water reactor to its pre-JCPOA condition by reviving the heart (calandria) of the reactor within 4 months from the date of the adoption of this law.

Also, the government is required to suspend the nuclear deal-based regulatory access beyond the Additional Protocol within 2 months after the adoption of the law based on the articles 36 and 37 of the nuclear deal.

Also, after 3 months from the adoption of this law, if Iran’s banking relations in Europe and the amount of oil purchases by them from Iran is not back to normal and to satisfactory conditions, the government is required to stop the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol.

Meantime, if after 3 months from the adoption of the law, the nuclear deal parties return to fulfill their undertakings, the government is required to submit a proposal to the parliament for Iran’s reciprocal action to return to the nuclear deal undertakings, the bill said.