(VOVWORLD) - The nuclear deal between Iran and Western powers expired on October 18, exactly 10 years after it was adopted, with Tehran announcing the termination of the decade-old agreement.
 Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi in a press conference after meeting with foreign diplomats in Tehran (Photo: IRNA/VNA) |
Iran said that as of Saturday, it is no longer bound by restrictions on its nuclear program under the 2015 deal signed in Vienna by Iran, China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the US, though Tehran reiterated its "commitment to diplomacy."
Also known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the accord capped Iran's uranium enrichment at 3.67% in exchange for sanctions relief and provided for strict supervision of its nuclear activities by the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). But the US left the deal in 2018 and reinstated sanctions, after which Tehran began stepping up its nuclear program.
In July, Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA, pointing to the agency's failure to condemn Israeli and US strikes on its nuclear facilities. The unprecedented bombing campaign by Israel and the retaliation by Iran during the 12-day war derailed ongoing nuclear negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
At the initiative of France, Britain and Germany, widespread UN sanctions against Iran returned into force in late September for the first time in a decade.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a letter addressed to the UN on Saturday that the expiration of the 2015 deal renders the sanctions "null and void".