Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi has branded French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian’s call for further talks with Iran as “bullying and excessive,” the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
“There is no reason, need, reliability or trust for negotiations on issues that are non-negotiable,” Qassemi was cited as saying.
On Thursday, Le Drian told a gathering of EU Foreign Ministers in Vienna that “Iran must respect the fundamentals of the JCPOA [the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action],” and should be prepared to negotiate on its further nuclear plans, as well as its ballistic missile arsenal and what he called its “meddling in conflicts across the Middle East.”
“I think that is the case, but Iran cannot avoid discussions, negotiations on three other major subjects that worry us — the future of Iran’s nuclear commitments after 2025, the ballistic question and the fact there is a sort of ballistic proliferation on the part of Iran… and the role Iran plays to stabilize the whole region. We must talk about these three subjects, Iran must be aware of this and that’s the message I send to them from Vienna.”
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted that “Being the party to still honor the deal in deeds & not just words is not Iran’s only option.”
Zarif’s tweet followed a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency confirming that Iran was still complying with the key provisions of the JCPOA despite the US’ unilateral withdrawal from the international treaty.
Source: Agencies
