Iran triggers nuclear deal dispute clause, urges EU to confront ‘US bullying’

Iran has sent an official letter to the European Union calling for the launch of a dispute settlement mechanism included in a 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers, European Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said on Friday.

The letter spells out Tehran’s concerns that Britain, France, and Germany are not honoring their commitment Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, signed in Vienna in 2015.

Borrell, the Europe Union’s point man for the Iran nuclear deal, said the letter sent by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was seeking to arbitrate the matter using the “dispute settlement mechanism, as indicated in paragraph 36 of the Agreement.”

The nature of Iran’s specific concerns has not been made public. The dispute settlement mechanism provides for a period of approximately one month, which may be extended if all parties agree, in order to resolve any disagreement.

In a tweet posted on June 19, Zarif said that that “E3 [UK, France, and Germnay] must stop public face-saving & muster the courage to state publicly what they admit privately: their failure to fulfill even own JCPOA duties due to total impotence in resisting US bullying.

“Behind (the) facade, E3 are accessories to Trump & Netanyahu—& in no position to counsel Iran,” he added.

The letter was sent to the EU on Friday after the country’s state news agency IRNA reported that Tehran’s “strategy” of “preventing further escalation” will be “fundamentally revised” if ” hostile countries, in particular, the Zionist regime and the United States cross the red lines set by Iran. “

These warnings came shortly after Tehran announced that an “incident” caused an explosion near the Natanz nuclear complex. The Islamic Republic has publicly blamed Israel for the explosion, claiming it was the result of a sophisticated cyber-attack.

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied the accusation.