Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Tehran would take another step towards reducing its commitments of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). JCPOA was signed in 2015 between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany). Tehran has said repeatedly that it would reduce its commitments of the deal or even withdraw from it completely if the European powers did not protect the Iranian economy from the US sanctions. Under the deal, Iran limits its nuclear activities and allow in inspectors of the Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect its nuclear facilities, to ensure that its sensitive nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful. In July 2019, US President Donald Trump announced his country's withdrawal from the deal, despite the warnings of his European allies. "Iran's demands have been definite and clear since the beginning, and it has not expected anything beyond the JCPOA," Zarif said. He added that Tehran has made clear that if the other parties do not implement the JCPOA in full, it will also carry out the deal partially, although all Iranian measures have been within the framework of the JCPOA. Regarding the calls on Iran to refrain from taking the third step to reduce its JCPOA commitments, Zarif noted "It is within the purview of the Islamic Republic to make a decision about it, and if the commitments of the foreign parties to the JCPOA are not met, this step will be certainly taken in line with the previous measures."
