‘Iran may quit nuclear deal if case sent to UNSC’

Tehran, May 14 (IANS) Iran may quit the nuclear deal it clinched with major world powers in 2015 if the case is sent back to the UN Security Council, an Iranian official has said.

Iran has a host of different measures to take, including withdrawal from the nuclear accord, if its nuclear case is sent back to the UN Security Council, Xinhua quoted Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, as saying to Press TV on Monday.

"If Iran's case is sent to the UN Security Council, the deal will be ruined ... and will not be alive anymore," he explained.

Last week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced his country's withdrawal from complying with the restrictions set by the nuke accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on Iran's enriched uranium reserves and heavy water supplies.

Rouhani also set a 60-day deadline for the remaining parties to the deal to fulfil their obligations, particularly in preserving Iran's interests in the areas of banking and oil.

The Iranian president threatened to increase the level of uranium enrichment and start modernizing the heavy water reactor if the deadline was not met.

Tehran's decision to suspend some of its nuclear deal commitments was meant to allow Europeans more time to comply with their obligations and to bring the international agreement back on its right track, Kamalvandi noted.

The main objective of the JCPOA was the removal of sanctions against Iran in a bid to help the country avail itself of the benefits of the deal, he said.

However, the restrictive measures are still in place despite Tehran's full compliance, the Iranian spokesman added.