Iran is against renegotiating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as Iran nuclear deal, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Friday after talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
“Our position is absolutely clear: we believe that new negotiations of the JCPOA cannot be held,” Zarif said, as quoted by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Zarif also praised talks with Macron as constructive, noting that he and the French leader had exchanged offers on enabling the nuclear deal implementation.
The JCPOA, signed in 2015 by Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and the European Union, required Iran to scale back its nuclear program and severely downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief.
On May 8, 2018, US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew his country from the deal and reimposed economic sanctions on Iran. Exactly a year later, Tehran announced its decision to partially suspend its JCPOA obligations and give the other signatories a deadline of 60 days to save the accord.
As the deadline expired, Iran began enriching uranium beyond the 3.67 percent level, outlined in the JCPOA, warning that it will gradually abandon its nuclear commitments every 60 days.