SEYED HOSSEIN MOUSAVIAN: Yes, I think President Trump made a big mistake to depart from the nuclear deal. Practically, it was President Trump who left the negotiation table because Iran and the big powers, the P5+1, they were negotiating at the level of foreign ministers and deputy ministers for years. And during even President Obama, you remember John Kerry and the Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, if not every day, they were weekly in touch negotiating, meeting, emailing.
When President Trump left the deal, practically he left the negotiation table. Therefore, he should be blamed for leaving the negotiation, not the Iranian side. And he is welcomed back again to the forum of P5+1 to return to the nuclear deal, to open dialogue and negotiation with Iran and with the other world powers if there is any other issue beyond the nuclear to negotiate. This is number one.
Number two, there is well-known by many nuclear scientists worldwide, even International Atomic Energy Agency, saying that the Iranian nuclear deal was and is the most comprehensive agreement during the history of nonproliferation. And Iran has accepted commitment for transparency measures and limitations on the nuclear program, which no other member of NPT, Non-Proliferation Treaty, has ever accepted. Therefore, Iran has accepted the maximum level of transparency based on the reports of the IAEA and the United Nations.
Third, the IAEA, International Atomic Energy Agency, which is the sole agency to judge about the nuclear program of the members, for two years in 14 reports, has confirmed Iran has fully complied with the nuclear deal, therefore, there has been zero failure on the Iranian side.
The deal was approved by the United Nations Security Council in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231. The U.S. violated. It was the U.S. who violated the deal, departed, and now, and worse, which is really an unprecedented phenomena during the history of international relations and United Nation, is the fact that the United States is punishing the other members of United Nations for complying with the resolution 2231 to supporting implementing the Iran Nuclear Deal. We have never had a U.N. Security Council member to punish the other members just because they are implementing the deal.
Therefore the U.S. is discrediting the highest level of international body on security and political, which is the United Nations Security Council.
JUAN GONZÃ LEZ: Ambassador, on that point specifically, President Trump did not only pull out, as you say; he is now trying to punish anyone who stays in the deal. Iran has waited patiently for a year for the other signatories to demonstrate that they're going to continue implementing it. So how do you place the announcement that they may begin enrichment again in the context of this year-long wait to see what the Europeans and the other signatories would do about the plan?
SEYED HOSSEIN MOUSAVIAN: Exactly. See, it is not for -- it is actually for two years. From the day one, President Trump has started to impose new sanctions. Based on JCPOA, the U.S. and EU, they are committed not only to reintroduce the nuclear-related sanctions, but not to reimpose new sanctions. Therefore, the U.S. has violated and is punishing the other members for implementing the deal. Iran has been patient for two years, implementing the deal with zero benefit.
Now Iran has decided on two measures, which is not a break of nuclear deal, because the U.S. latest sanctions prevented the export of excessive amount of enriched uranium. Based on the nuclear deal, Iran has accepted always to keep 300 kilogram and export the excessive amount to Russia of enriched uranium, and 130 tons of heavy water and to export the excessive amount to Oman. Now the U.S. has put sanctions on Iran not to export the heavy water, the excessive amounts to Oman, and not to export excessive amount of enrichment to Russia. Therefore, Iran has no other option. Iran cannot practically export, therefore Iran would be forced to have excessive amount, therefore, it is not a violation by the Iranian side. Iran has been forced by the U.S. not to export.
However, Iran has warned the other P5+1 members that, "I have been waiting for two years for you. You have done zero. If you cannot implement the deal, I'm not going to implement the deal forever unilaterally. This is an international agreement. This is multilateral agreement. If the U.S. cannot comply, you should comply. If none of you are going to comply, I'm going to gradually depart from the deal." That's why now Europe, Russia, China, India, every country is blaming the U.S., not Iran.
AMY GOODMAN: A U.N. official recently criticized the U.S. for imposing these unilateral sanctions on Iran, on Cuba and Venezuela that could lead to mass starvation, he said. UN Special Rapporteur Idriss Jazairy said "Real concerns and serious political differences between governments must never be resolved by precipitating economic and humanitarian disasters, making ordinary people pawns and hostages thereof." As we wrap up, the reality on the ground for the Iranian people right now, and what this could mean also for the government when the people are suffering as much as has been described?
SEYED HOSSEIN MOUSAVIAN: You're completely right. Eighty millions of Iranians are suffering from U.S. sanctions. And practically the strategy of John Bolton is a war, a sanction war, economic war on Iranian nation in order to push them to bring a regime change within inside Iran. Within Iran. Therefore, practically they are punishing the Iranian nation. This is really a big humanitarian disaster because even Iranians, they cannot import medicine. They cannot import food.
And when Foreign Minister Zarif was here some weeks ago, he just wanted to test the humanitarian humor of the U.S. side. He proposed for exchange of prisoners. Regardless of whether the Iranian prisoners in the U.S. are guilty or not, or the U.S. prisoners in Iran are guilty or not, he proposed exchange of prisoners as a humanitarian gesture. And immediately, the White House declined. While we had such a humanitarian exchange during President Obama, but President Trump declined. Therefore, we understand now there is zero humanitarian good will from the U.S. side, and the policy is really economic war punishing the Iranian nation.
AMY GOODMAN: We want to thank you so much for being with us, ambassador. Ambassador Seyed Hossein Mousavian is a Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He served as spokesperson for Iran in its nuclear negotiations with the European Union. Author of The Iranian Nuclear Crisis: A Memoir and most recently, Iran and the United States: An Insider's view on the Failed Past and the Road to Peace. Speaking to us from Princeton University. This is Democracy Now! When we come back, the award-winning playwright Eve Ensler. She has a new book out. It's called The Apology. Stay with us.
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