Iranian President Hasan Rouhani told German Chancellor Angela Merkel modifying the 2015 nuclear deal is out of the question.

In a phone call with Merkel, Rouhani stressed that the only way to save the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is to lift Washington’s “inhumane sanctions” on Tehran.

The Iranian president categorically dismissed the possibility of injecting new items into the already negotiated nuclear deal, which was struck on July 14, 2015 between Iran and six world powers – the US, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.

“The JCPOA, as a document approved by the UN Security Council and a product of sustained efforts by Iran and six major countries in the world, has a clear framework and cannot be changed,” Rouhani told Merkel, according to his office.

The US unilaterally left the nuclear agreement under the administration of former President Donald Trump in May 2018, and then put enormous pressure on Iran with the declared aim of making a “better deal” that it said should include Iran’s missile program and its regional activities.

Tehran rejected the “excessive demands” and countered Trump’s so-called maximum pressure policy with its “maximum resistance”.

Iran has since consistently dismissed calls to renegotiate the JCPOA, while criticizing the three European parties to the deal – also known as the E3 – for their apparent inability to stand up to US unilateralism and their failure to secure Iran’s interests under the agreement.

Hinting at Europe’s lack of commitment to the JCPOA in the aftermath of the US withdrawal, Rouhani said Iran should be able to see the effectiveness of the nuclear deal in practice, and Europe should practically prove that it is really after maintaining the JCPOA.

Source: Iranian media