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Iran will finalise its fifth step back from a nuclear deal later Sunday, a spokesman said, in retaliation for the US withdrawing from the multilateral accord and reimposing sanctions.
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“Regarding the fifth step, decisions had already been made… but considering the current situation, some changes will be made in an important meeting tonight,” foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in televised remarks two days after the US killed a top Iranian general in a drone strike.
“In the world of politics, all things affect each other,” he was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.
Mousavi gave no indication as to what the next step would be nor when it would be announced.
President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 agreement between Tehran and six major powers in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran that have crippled its economy. Hostilities between the countries escalated sharply after Fridays US drone attack in Baghdad that killed Soleimani.
In reaction to the US policy of “maximum pressure” since Trump pulled out of the nuclear agreement, Iran has gradually distanced itself from the deal, under which Tehran undertook to curb its nuclear activity in exchange for a lifting of many international sanctions.
>> Understanding the restrictions imposed by the Iran nuclear deal
Since May, Iran has been reducing its nuclear commitments with a series of steps every 60 days. In November, it gave Britain, France and Germany a third 60-day deadline to salvage the deal or face a further decrease of its nuclear commitments. The deadline passed on Saturday.
France and EU call for de-escalation
The European Union has continued to seek a diplomatic breakthrough.
The European Union said on Sunday that Irans foreign minister has been invited to Brussels, for a meeting aimed at a “de-escalation of tensions” in the Gulf after the US air strikes that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
The EUs foreign policy chief Josep Borrell made the offer to Mohammad Javad Zarif during a telephone call this weekend, a press release said.
Spoke w Iranian FM @JZarif about recent developments. Underlined need for de-escalation of tensions, to exercise restraint & avoid further escalation. Also discussed imporRead More – Source
