"The Islamic Republic will not hold any new talks on the JCPOA, and believes
that the basic issues, such as the defense capabilities, including the missile
technology that is necessary for defending the country, are not negotiable at
all,” Ayatollah Amoli Larijani said in a meeting of senior Judiciary officials,
held in Tehran on Monday.
He also took a swipe at the US government for supplying Saudi Arabia with arms
that are used for war crimes in Yemen and for upsetting regional security,
saying the US administration, led by a "delusional, unstable and vicious”
president like Donald Trump, is in no position to talk about Iran’s defense
power.
In comments in February, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali
Khamenei called for efforts to maintain and boost Iran’s defense capabilities,
hitting back at the enemies for disputing the country’s missile program.
"Without a moment of hesitation, the country must move to acquire whatever is
necessary for defense, even if the whole world is opposed to it,” Ayatollah
Khamenei said.
Iranian officials have also repeatedly dismissed any change of renegotiating or
revising the JCPOA, the nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1
(Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
In September 2017, AyatollahKhamenei lambasted the US for violating the JCPOA,
warning that any "wrong move” concerning the nuclear deal would draw reaction
from Iran.
Iran and the Group 5+1 reached the 159-page nuclear agreement in July 2015 and
started to implement it in January 2016.
Ever since the deal took effect, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
has confirmed Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA in all quarterly reports, but
some other parties, especially the US, have failed to live up to their
undertakings.
While Trump has on various occasions called for renegotiating the JCPOA or
terminating it, Iran and most other parties say the nuclear agreement is a valid
multilateral international document that would not be renegotiated.
Source: Tasnim News Agency