Iran has reiterated to European countries that it will not negotiate over Tehran’s ballistic missiles testing and development.
Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi (pictured) said on Monday that the European Union and its members were mistaken if they thought limits on the missiles would keep the US in the July 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and the 5+1 Powers (US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, and China):
Some Europeans think that if they give Trump non-JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] concessions, they will be able to keep him inside the nuclear deal, this is a totally wrong policy which will without a doubt have a reverse result.
The EU, Britian, France, and Germany have all maintained support for the deal and criticized the Trump Administration’s threats to withdraw. However, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, they have called for a separate agreement over Iran’s ballistic missiles.
Tehran says the agreement is not necessary because its missiles are not designed to carry nuclear warheads and are only for defensive purposes.
Araqchi repeated the denial of last week’s report in The Financial Times, citing the German Foreign Ministry, that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif agreed in Brussels earlier this month to an “intensive and very serious dialogue” on Iran’s missiles and activities in the region.
The Deputy Foreign Minister said the Trump Administration’s effort to pressure the UN Security Council over the missiles and “recent riots” — a reference to protests that spread across Iran from December 28 for two weeks over economic and political issues — would not succeed.
