TEHRAN – Russia and China must take practical measures if they want to protect the achievements of the nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad said on Friday.

Zarif made the remarks upon arriving in Beijing on Friday, according to ISNA.

“China is an important partner of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said. “China is one of the remaining members to Barjam (JCPOA) and it is important to hold consultations with the Chinese side, especially with regard to the recent developments and Iran’s decision to pursue its rights under Barjam.”

He further emphasized that the international community has not taken practical measures in order to salvage the JCPOA.

The top Iranian diplomat travelled to China for political negotiations on Tehran-Beijing ties and the latest regional and international developments, including the U.S. government’s destabilizing activities.

The Iranian foreign minister paid visits to Russia, Turkmenistan, India, and Japan before travelling to Beijing.

‘Washington is bullying others to act illegally’

In remarks to the Japanese media on Thursday, Zarif ruled out any prospect of talks with the United States, calling the Washington regime a “bully” trying to force all others into acting illegally.

“This is the first time in history that a bully is telling everybody else, important countries, that ‘I’m going to punish you if you observe something that I do not like’,” he stated, according to the Kyodo News agency.

“Let us assume that a bully is standing in a cross section on the street and telling everybody, ‘If you don’t pass the red light, I’m going to beat you.’ This is exactly what the U.S. is telling them,” he exemplified.

The U.S. has been deploying a policy of “maximum pressure” against Iran under President Donald Trump.

Employing the policy, Washington left a multilateral nuclear deal, reached between Iran and the six major powers – the U.S., UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany, last year.

It then reinstated the sanctions that had been lifted under the accord, and began threatening the countries not abiding by the bans with “secondary sanctions.”

On May 8, exactly one year after U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, Iran said it would stop implementing some parts of its commitments under the 2015 accord, giving 60 days to other parties to the deal to fulfil their obligations in oil and banking areas.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei downplayed the Washington’s anti-Iran rhetoric earlier this week, stressing that “there is not going to be any war.”

The Leader also ruled out any negotiation with the U.S. as long as Washington sticks with its hostile approach against the Islamic Republic.

MH/