he United States and its top European allies have continued to act in bad faith against Iran, endangering the prospects of diplomatic attempts to salvage the US-abandoned Iran nuclear agreement, even after Tehran announced its readiness to resume negotiations in Vienna.

In a joint statement on Saturday, the leaders of the United States, Germany, France, and Britain said they shared a �grave and growing concern that, while Iran halted negotiations on a return to the JCPOA (nuclear deal) since June, it has accelerated the pace of provocative nuclear steps, such as the production of highly enriched uranium and enriched uranium metal.�

The statement marks the second major wrong-headed step after Tehran�s renewed determination to resume the talks aimed at removing the US sanctions, which could set the stage for revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Action (JCPOA), with the first being the announcement of fresh sanctions on the Islamic Republic a day earlier, which, according to Iran,�proved�that the US �is not trustworthy at all.�

Iran and six world powers, including the US, the European trio, Russia, and China, inked the JCPOA in July 2015. The agreement removed international sanctions on Iran in exchange for certain limits on Iran�s nuclear activities.

The deal, however, was unilaterally abandoned by the US in 2018 despite Iran�s full compliance with its nuclear undertakings, as repeatedly certified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The US then unleashed a �maximum pressure� campaign against Iran which practically deprived the country of all of the deal�s economic benefits.

Iran fully honored its nuclear obligations for an entire year, after which it decided to ramp up its nuclear work as a legal �remedial measure� against the US violation of the deal and the abject failure on the part of the other signatories, the E3 in particular, to safeguard its benefits.

 

Source: Press TV