Iran said Monday it was continuing negotiations with Europe to see if the latter can guarantee the benefits of remaining in the Nuclear deal.
“If the European Union is keen that Iran stays in the JCPOA, it should fulfill in the shortest possible time its obligations regarding the necessary guarantees and mechanisms that could lead to the implementation of Europe’s commitments under the JCPOA along with Russia and China,” foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi told reporters in Tehran, referring to the formal name of the 2015 accord.
“The European Union will not have much time and we have to take necessary measures as soon as possible in order clarify the situation at the earliest,” he added.
Iran Skeptical on North Korea Talks
Meanwhile, the Iranian official said the Islamic Republic remains dubious about the prospects for talks between the United States and North Korea, and warned Pyongyang to be highly vigilant about Washington’s promises.
“As regards US behavior, approach and its intentions, we are highly skeptical and look at its actions with utter pessimism,” Qassemi said.
“For the time being we cannot be optimistic about the United States’ behavior, and the government of North Korea must approach this issue with absolute vigilance,” he added.
Qassemi said US President Donald Trump’s actions in abandoning the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and other international agreements, had shown he was an unreliable partner.
“We would like peace, stability and security to be established in the Korean Peninsula,” he said, but added that experience in dealing with the US and Trump had left it with “much pessimism”.
Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Singapore on Sunday for an unprecedented summit, with the US demanding complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization.
Source: AFP
