President of the United States, Chancellor of Germany, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and The President of France, met in Rome today to discuss the risks posed to international security by Iran's escalating nuclear program.
In a joint statement, the leaders expressed determination to ensure that Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon.
"We expressed our determination to ensure that Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon and shared our grave and growing concern that, while Iran halted negotiations on a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) since June, it has accelerated the pace of provocative nuclear steps, such as the production of highly enriched uranium and enriched uranium metal," the statement said.
The leaders said that Iran has "no credible civilian need for either measure, but both are important to nuclear weapons programs."
"These steps have only been made more alarming by Iran's simultaneously decreased cooperation and transparency with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," the statement added.
The countries also agreed that continued Iranian nuclear advances and obstacles to the IAEA's work will jeopardize the possibility of a return to the JCPOA.
"The current situation underscores the importance of a negotiated solution that provides for the return of Iran and the US to full compliance with the JCPOA and provides the basis for continued diplomatic engagement to resolve remaining points of contention - both our concerns and Iran's," the statement said.
The countries also welcomed President Biden's clearly demonstrated commitment to return the US to full compliance with the JCPOA and to stay in full compliance, so long as "Iran does the same".
"We are convinced that it remains possible to quickly reach and implement an understanding on return to full compliance to ensure for the long term that Iran's nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes, and to provide sanctions lifting with long-lasting implications for Iran's economic growth," the joint statement said.
"This will only be possible if Iran changes course," the leaders added and called upon President Raisi to seize this opportunity and return to a good faith effort to conclude the negotiations as a matter of urgency.
"That is the only sure way to avoid a dangerous escalation, which is not in any country's interest," the statement added.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is a detailed, 159-page agreement with five annexes reached by Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) on July 14, 2015, Arms Control Association informed.
( With inputs from ANI )
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