UPDATE - Russia: Iran deal dispute mechanism could be harmful

ADDS QUOTES FROM FOREIGN MINISTRY; NEW DECK

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The launch of the Iran nuclear deal dispute mechanism could have negative consequences, Russia warned Tuesday.

The U.K., Germany, and France announced Tuesday they would activate the dispute mechanism of the 2015 deal due to Tehran’s continuous violations.

The decision of the European participants provokes “deep disappointment and concern," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"We do not see any grounds for such a step. We do not exclude that the ill-considered actions of Euro-troika will lead to a new escalation around the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action] and make it impossible to return the implementation of the nuclear deal to the initially agreed framework, which Euro-troika allegedly seeks," it said and stressed the mechanism was created for different purposes, and at the time of drafting the JCPOA no one could suggest the U.S. would withdraw.

Iran suspended only obligations undertaken voluntarily, its nuclear program remains under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and in response to the violations by the U.S., it added.

“The restrictions set out in the JCPOA on the Iranian nuclear program, which Tehran agreed to accept in the interests of reaching a compromise … were temporary from the very beginning. This ‘eurotroika’ is well aware about it. These restrictions were necessary in order to let the IAEA to get answers to its questions to Tehran, which were actually absolved in less than six months. Nevertheless, Iran was ready to comply with all the conditions of the nuclear deal with due reciprocity and responsible attitude on the part of the other partners," the Russian diplomatic service said.

Russia urged the European countries to refrain from moves which call into question the prospects of the deal and to better implement its part of the deal.

In a separate statement, Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's envoy to the IAEA and other organizations in Vienna, said the European countries' step could have negative consequences.

"The possibility of implementing a dispute mechanism is indeed provided for in the JCPOA [nuclear deal]. The question is how timely this step is and whether it will have negative consequences. The justification of this step is very doubtful, to put it mildly," he wrote on Twitter.

The JCPOA was signed in 2015 with the purpose of stopping Iran's nuclear weapons development.

The deal suggested lifting sanctions in exchange for putting limits on the Iran nuclear program.

In May 2018, the U.S. withdrew from the agreement, igniting gradual cutting of the obligations by Iran, who accused the European signatories of the deal of delaying implementation of their responsibilities under the deal.

On Jan. 5, Iran announced that it was fully withdrawing from the deal in the wake of the U.S. killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.