Iran has reminded the European signatories to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) of its plan to enter a new phase of suspending commitments it has been honoring under the 2015 deal. According to Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the "third step" will be taken Sept. 6 unless a new understanding between Tehran and the European sides is achieved.
Details of what Iran has in store for the Europeans in the third phase remain undisclosed. In the two earlier "steps," announced on May 8 and July 7, Iran defied key constraints on its nuclear program by augmenting its uranium stockpile to above 300 kilograms and upgrading enrichment past the 3.67% limit. Tehran says the measures are meant to save the JCPOA and pressure the Europeans into providing the Islamic Republic with the deal's promised economic relief.
In the event of a breakthrough with the Europeans, Zarif said, the Islamic Republic will revert its measures and fully reinstate full compliance with the accord. There is, nevertheless, speculation that Iran's fresh measures might be announced as irreversible to further press the Europeans into action.
The remarks by Iran's foreign minister came in his interview with German paper Suddeutsche Zeitung as he was visiting China and Japan. In those two countries, Zarif demonstrated his characteristic artistry in public diplomacy by posting on Twitter in the official languages of the host nations, expressing satisfaction with "constructive" talks there. The Iranian top diplomat will continue his intense foreign visits in Malaysia. The tour has already seen him land in three Scandinavian countries and France.
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