Return to Full JCPOA Compliance Hinges on Oil Sale Assurance

EghtesadOnline: Iran demands firm guarantee for its oil sales to reverse the steps taken beyond the limits set in the international 2015 nuclear deal, a top diplomat said.

News ID: ۷۴۸۳۲۳

01 September 2019

Under the agreement, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which was signed by six world powers, Iran placed curbs on its nuclear program in return for relief from international sanctions.

The United States, however, unilaterally exited the deal last year and reinstated harsh sanctions, especially aiming for a complete halt to Iranian oil exports, the main source of the country's income.

Other parties pledged to make up for the economic damage of the American restrictions, but proved unable to do so within a year. Iran, consequently, began to gradually scale back its commitments in response, declaring that the measures would be reversed once its demands are met, Financial Tribune reported.

"Iran's demand is clear. If Europeans and other members of the agreement want Iran to return to full compliance with JCPOA, they should fulfill our demand regarding the sale of oil," Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a radio interview, the Iranian Diplomacy reported.

Iran has so far implemented two phases of its wind-down plan and the third is due on Sept. 6.

Last-Ditch Efforts

To salvage the deal and convince Tehran to refrain from pursuing its reciprocal plan, France has taken the lead and launched an initiative to ease tensions between Iran and the US.

French President Emmanuel Macron has been in close contact with his Iranian and American counterparts to address the problem.

He has offered a proposal to either soften sanctions on Iran or provide a compensation mechanism in return for Tehran's full compliance with the pact.

"Mr. Macron is moving along this line. During the G7 Summit [in Biarritz, France], Macron met and talked with [US President Donald] Trump. There has been some flexibility on the part of the American side with regard to issuing permits for the sale of Iran's oil," Araqchi said.

Trump said later he was not open to giving Iran compensation for sanctions, but other countries would give Iran a credit line to keep it going.

“No, we are not paying, we don't pay … but they may need some money to get them over a very rough patch … so we are really talking about a letter of credit. It would be from numerous countries," he said.

Araqchi said he expected talks on the recent proposal would be "hard and complicated", but would most likely result in success for Iran.

"Since the other side has no option and has understood our will, I think their efforts are aimed at finding a formula to meet Iran's demands," he said.