Al Monitor - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, speaking with Al-Monitor in New York, said that if President Donald Trump withholds the next round of Iran sanctions waivers due May 12, effectively exiting the nuclear deal, Tehran could resume its nuclear program “in a much more advanced way.” 


While he did not confirm whether Iran would leave the deal in response, he stressed that an exit by Washington wouldn’t represent a major break from the past. Zarif said the policies Trump has pursued over the past 15 months have stunted the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action's (JCPOA) economic impact on Iran, and thus any decision Tehran makes would be “fully justified by the JCPOA.”

“The mere presence of the United States in the deal is not sufficient. The United States must be an active participant in the deal in good faith,” he said.

Zarif said efforts by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron to ramp up pressure on Tehran over its regional policies and missile program in exchange for Washington staying in the deal were “misguided.” Merkel and Macron are meeting with Trump at the White House this week, following rounds of US-EU negotiations aimed at preserving the accord.

As Trump prepares to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Zarif said that any similar high-level meeting between Tehran and Washington would “require respect, and once President Trump is prepared to exhibit some of that” such a meeting could occur.

 

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