Iranian FM urges int'l condemnation of US withdrawal from nuclear deal

TEHRAN - Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday urged international condemnation of US attitude towards Iran's 2015 landmark nuclear deal, Press TV reported.

In letters to his counterparts of a number of countries, Zarif warned of the dangerous consequences of the US "illegal and unilateral" move to pull out of the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

He called for international condemnation of what he called Washington's "extremism," urging the world to withstand US "lawbreaking and bullying behavior."

"Illegal withdrawal of the US government from the JCPOA ... is challenging the goals and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the efficiency of international bodies," the Iranian foreign minister said.

Likewise, the US withdrawal from the JCPOA was the country's biggest effort aimed at violating and weakening the nuclear accord and the UN Resolution 2231, adopted in July 2015 to endorse the historic deal, he said.

Zarif further said the JCPOA put an end to an "unnecessary crisis" which lasted for more than one decade.

He emphasized that the agreement's scope, regulations and time frame were the outcome of "accurate, sensitive and balanced multilateral" talks and it is impossible to make any changes on or hold new negotiations about them.

US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 to pull out of the treaty, and vowed to re-impose sanctions on Iran, which was alleviated under the JCPOA.

Iran has said that it will stay in the deal as long as the other five powers remain committed to it despite the US pullout.