By Mehdi Sepahvand

Zarif says while in UN he was told to go to White House or be sanctioned

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told a press conference on Monday that while he was in New York the Americans told him that if he did not accept to go to the White House to meet President Donald Trump he will be sanctioned in two weeks.

Iran will take next step to scale back nuclear activities if obligations not met: Zarif

TEHRAN – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said Iran will take the next step in reducing commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal if the remaining parties to the agreement do not honor their obligations.

Bolton’s nuclear enrichment remarks lack legal validity: Shamkhani

TEHRAN - Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, has said that U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton’s remarks that Iran should not be allowed to enrich uranium “have no legal credibility”.

By staff and agency

Mogherini says Iran’s reducing nuclear commitments is not significant

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Monday that remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, do not see Iran’s reducing its commitments as significant non-compliance.

Uranium not to pass 4.5% purity for time being: Kamalvandi

TEHRAN - Behrooz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said on Tuesday that for the time being, Iran will not pass uranium enrichment above 4.5 percent purity.

‘Iran says expects practical and effective steps by European partners to save JCPOA’

TEHRAN – Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Monday that Iran expects European partners to the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, to take practical actions to implement the deal.

Authorities unanimous on Iran’s JCPOA move: cleric

TEHRAN – Hojjatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi, the interim Friday prayer leader of Tehran, says authorities unanimously agree on reducing Iran’s commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

By staff and agency

Russian diplomat urges Europe to save nuclear deal

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov on Tuesday urged Europe to save the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Rouhani says U.S. call for UN nuclear watchdog meeting is ‘farcical’

TEHRAN – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that the U.S. call for an emergency meeting of the UN atomic watchdog on Iran’s nuclear actions is a “farcical story”.

Government: Iran’s commitment to JCPOA will match Europeans’

TEHRAN - Ali Rabiei, the government spokesman, said on Tuesday that Iran’s commitment to the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the JCPOA, will be commensurate to the Europeans’ commitment to the agreement.

By Mehdi Sepahvand

French president sends adviser to Iran for talks

TEHRAN – French President Emmanuel Macron is sending his chief diplomatic adviser to Iran following Tehran’s decision to enrich uranium beyond the threshold of the 2015 nuclear accord, the Associated Press reported on Monday.

There is limit to patience, Jahangiri tells Europeans

TEHRAN - Iran has remained in the 2015 nuclear deal even one year after the U.S. withdrawal, however, there is a “limit to patience”, Iranian First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri said on Monday.

Mousavi says if the remaining parties to the nuclear deal, especially Europeans, fail to fulfil their obligations, Iran will take a “stronger third step” after 60 days

Iran says will not breach JCPOA unless ‘bizarre actions’ are taken

TEHRAN – Iran will not take any measure against the 2015 nuclear agreement unless the other parties to the deal take peculiar, unexpected actions, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Monday.

By staff and agency

Russia says will pursue diplomatic efforts to save nuclear deal

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia will pursue diplomatic efforts to save the 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Iran’s second step in reducing nuclear commitments does not mean quitting JCPOA: MP

TEHRAN - Deputy Chairman of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Kamal Dehghani has said that Iran’s second step in reducing its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, does not mean quitting the agreement.

Russian senator blames U.S. actions against Iran for regional tension

TEHRAN - Russian Senator Frants Klintsevich has said that the U.S. hostile actions against Iran have caused tension in the region.

By staff and agency

‘Russia understands reason behind Iran’s nuclear steps’

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, said on Sunday that Moscow understands the reason behind Iran’s steps in reducing commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

UN nuclear inspectors will report back on Iran’s enrichment move

TEHRAN – Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who are in Iran, will report back once they have checked the level of Tehran’s enrichment level, the agency said on Sunday.

MP: Iran needs 90% uranium for maritime propellers

TEHRAN – A senior MP, Mojtaba Zonnur, has said that Iran needs to have 90% uranium to set maritime propellers working.

Zarif: Iran’s nuclear steps reversible only through E3 compliance

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday that Iran’s steps in reducing its nuclear commitments are “reversible” only if the three European countries of Britain, France, and Germany (E3) honor their commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the official name for the 2015 nuclear agreement.

Iran starts enriching uranium to above 3.67%

TEHRAN – As the Europeans missed a two-month deadline to devise a concrete economic and financial mechanism to protect Iran from the harsh U.S. sanctions, Iran officially announced on Sunday, July 7, that it is starting to enrich uranium to a higher purity than the 3.67%.

Kharrazi says INSTEX does not go beyond a “claim”

TEHRAN - Kamal Kharrazi, chairman of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, believes that INSTEX, a European payment system for trade with Iran designed to circumvent U.S. sanctions imposed on Tehran, lacks teeth.

Iran will enrich uranium as much as it needs, cleric says

TEHRAN – Tehran Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Mohammad-Ali Movahedi Kermani says Iran will enrich uranium to any level and in any quantity it needs starting from July 7.

Iran to liberalize uranium enrichment level on July 7

the Arak nuclear reactor will return to its previous activities after July 7

TEHRAN – The Iranian president says Tehran will get past a 3.67% uranium enrichment level set by the 2015 nuclear deal on July 7 as a retaliatory measure to U.S. ditching of the agreement.

Zarif: Iran to start second phase of limiting nuclear commitments on July 7

TEHRAN – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said that Iran will start a second phase of diminishing its undertakings under the 2015 nuclear deal, aka Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on July 7.

Tehran sets to declare limits on nuclear commitments 

TEHRAN – Iran will announce its latest measures to limit its commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers on Monday, following its decision to counter the United States’ unilateral withdrawal from the deal in 2018.

Russia says Washington is to blame for Iran’s accumulation of excess enriched uranium

TEHRAN - Tehran is unable to export enriched uranium and heavy water exactly because of U.S. sanctions that encumber implementation of certain provisions of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a Russian official has said, Sputniknews reported on Tuesday.

By Hanif Ghaffari

Iran’s game just started

TEHRAN - By announcing that Iran will begin keeping its excess uranium and heavy water, the Islamic Republic now sends a firm and clear message to the west, exactly one year after U.S. president, Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from its nuclear deal with Iran. 

Salehi: Iran not obliged to restrict uranium to 300kg and heavy water to 130 tons

TEHRAN - Ali Akbar Salehi, director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said on Wednesday that Iran is not obliged to restrict its stockpile of enriched uranium to 300kg and its heavy water to 130 tons.