Iranian FM Zarif Defends the JCPOA in the Iranian Majlis: Criminal U.S. Regime Backed Out; It Was Not My Decision in the First Place

During an Iranian parliament on January 28, 2019, MP Ali Adiyani criticized Iranian FM Javad Zarif for joining the JCPOA despite having said that he does not trust the United States. Adiyani said that the JCPOA achieved none of the things that Zarif had said it would. Zarif responded by asking: "Why do you hold the disloyalty of… the criminal American regime against [Iran]?... What can you expect from a country that doesn't respect the indisputable principles of international law?" He added that the JCPOA brought great benefits to Iran and that President Trump's decision to back out of the JCPOA has left him isolated from the world. The video aired on Channel 1 (Iran).

Following are excerpts:

MP Ali Adiyani: [I ask Mr. Javad] Zarif: Who said that [John] Kerry's guarantee was sufficient and that his signature was a guarantee? You say that you didn't trust him – yet what did you do? If this is mistrust, then or linguists need to change the definition of "mistrust" in our lexicon, literature, and Persian dictionaries, and they should replace the word "trust" with "JCPOA." Honorable Mr. Zarif, [the JCPOA] should have caused our national and private markets to flourish. You said that the JCPOA would cause our people to enjoy a high employment rate, increased production, a solution to the problems of water and the environment, increased national honor, and an increase in the value of Iran's passports. Has all this taken place?

[…]

Mohammad Javad Zarif: Why do you hold the disloyalty of the government of the criminal American regime against the Islamic Republic? Why do you refer to Iran's source of national honor and pride [the JCPOA] as [equally humiliating as] the Treaty of Turkmenchay? There had been sufficient commitment, and we reported that this was the case, but the American regime backed out of this commitment, just like it has backed out of thousands of other commitments. What can you expect from a government that doesn't respect the indisputable principles of international law? Who said that we acted on the basis of trust? We presented the report about the implementation of the JCPOA to Majlis. And if you had decided… We will do whatever you decide. We have no problem with this. Do you think that I have a problem backing out of the JCPOA? I'm not the one who decides. The state decides. The state should make a decision about this, but you should know that the JCPOA brought great benefit to Iran. Mr. Trump has been trying for two years to erase this benefit, and today, he has become isolated from the world.