Global Geopolitical Series: Iran warns against unilateral scrapping of nuclear agreement by U.S.

Arriving in New York, Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has once again warned the United States against scrapping the nuclear agreement in a unilateral move saying that it would have unpleasant consequences for the United States.

In 2015, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with the United States and other five world powers; Russia, China, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The deal required the U.S. President to certify Iran’s compliance with the agreement. However, Trump, who has been very critical of the agreement and often called it as the worst deal ever made, refused to recertify Iran’s compliance with the agreement in October and in January, said that he is signing the sanctions waiver for the last time. The deadline for the next signature is on 12th May and if he fails to sign the waivers, which needed to be extended every 120 days, the restrictions on Iran will be automatically re-imposed. Iran has threatened to cancel the agreement if the sanctions on oil are re-imposed. It has also threatened to speed up the Uranium enrichment process if the deal gets canceled due to Trump’s refusal to sign a waiver.

Zarif was quoted as saying, “Iran has several options if the United States leaves the nuclear deal. Tehran’s reaction to America's withdrawal of the deal will be unpleasant”.