Possibility of opening Iran nuclear deal a ‘myth’: Zarif

During an interview published by the Associated Press on Wednesday, Zarif stressed that the possibility of renegotiating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was a “myth.”

Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China – plus Germany signed the nuclear agreement on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.

Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limitations on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly verified Iran’s adherence to the terms of the JCPOA since January 2016, when the deal took effect.

Since Trump took office, the US has launched an attack against the nuclear deal, threatening to abandon the deal on multiple occasions.

"We dealt with all these issues. It took us many years. It took us 10 years of posturing on all sides and two years of serious negotiations to reach this deal. I don't expect that a new round will produce any better results. In fact, a new round will get us in a quagmire that nobody will be able to get out of," added Zarif.

Zarif stated that if the US withdraws from the deal, Tehran is no longer bound by that agreement, adding, we will then “decide how we want to deal with it."

"It does not mean that Iran wants to pursue a nuclear weapons option," he stressed. "But what is important is if the deal is broken, then Iran has many options, one of which would be to have an unlimited yet peaceful nuclear energy program."

‘Travel ban insult to whole nation’

Zarif also said that Trump’s new travel restrictions on Iran were "an insult to the entire Iranian nation."

On Monday, Trump signed the new travel rules, in which citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen face further restrictions in traveling to the US.