"We have NOT violated the JCPOA," tweeted Zarif on Monday night, referring to the complete name of the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
His tweet comes after both Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that Iran has exceeded the 300 kg capacity on stockpile of its low-enriched uranium.
He referred to paragraph 36 of the accord, adding that Iran "triggered & exhausted para 36 after US withdrawal".
According to paragraph 36 of the JCPOA, "if, after this 30-day process the issue is not resolved, the Joint Commission would consider the opinion of the Advisory Board for no more than 5 days in order to resolve the issue. If the issue still has not been resolved to the satisfaction of the complaining participant, and if the complaining participant deems the issue to constitute significant nonperformance, then that participant could treat the unresolved issue as grounds to cease performing its commitments under this JCPOA in whole or in part and/or notify the UN Security Council that it believes the issue constitutes significant non-performance."
Iran foreign policy chief stressed that Tehran "gave E3+2 a few weeks while reserving our right," referring to Germany, France and the UK, also known as the E3 as well as Russia and China.
"We finally took action after 60 weeks," Zarif reiterated, stressing that Iran will "reverse, as soon as E3 abide by their obligations".
Tehran is asking Europe to normalize its trade ties, resisting the US pressure. The E3 say their payment mechanism called INSTEX is ready and operational but no transaction has been finalized so far.