On Thursday, responding to threats by US President Donald Trump toward the Iran over the JCPOA, a spokesman for Iran’s Supreme National Security Council invoked Iran’s history of “active resistance.”
Iranian spokesman Keivan Khosravi said that “diplomacy and biting” are “two paradoxical concepts” which only make sense in “a Trumpism school of thought,” according to Tehran's Mehr news agency.
“The US has long before ‘bit’ ways of diplomacy and dialogue and wounded the global security with adopting unilateral approaches and leaving international treaties,” he said, quoted by Mehr.
Khosravi pointed to 40 years of the US “biting” the Iranian nation - referring to the US’s treatment of Iran since the Iranian revolution of 1979, 40 years ago this year, which saw the overthrow of the US-backed Pahlavi dynasty.
“The second stage of reducing JCPOA commitments will commence on July 7 according to paragraphs 26 and 36 of the nuclear agreement and strictly within the framework that will be decided by the Islamic Republic,” he added.
The comments follow a Wednesday Trump tweet in which he warned “be careful with the threats. Iran! They can come back to bite you like nobody has been bitten before!”.
Iran has just issued a New Warning. Rouhani says that they will Enrich Uranium to “any amount we want” if there is no new Nuclear Deal. Be careful with the threats, Iran. They can come back to bite you like nobody has been bitten before!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2019
The US president's tweet was in response to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s statement that Iran will continue to develop uranium enrichment beyond the established the 2015 JCPOA limits, due to a failure by Europe to uphold its promises regarding sanctions before 7 July.
President Rouhani cautioned European powers on Wednesday that Tehran would "take the next step" in surpassing treaty limits beginning Sunday, according to AP.
The US claimed the JCPOA is "unfair" and does not do enough to prevent Iran developing a nuclear arsenal.
Conversely, the EU and nuclear inspectors noted that Iran has been "fully compliant" with the treaty's demands.
Since withdrawing from the JCPOA, the Trump administration has maintained a pattern of hostility toward Iran, threatening the country's "obliteration" after the Iranian president accused Trump of having a "mental disability".
The EU and the UK have retained signatory status to the treaty and attempted to set up a mechanism for trade with Iran in order to bypass US sanctions.
The EU announced the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchange (INSTEX) on Friday to enable trade with Iran.
The exchange will allow for the importing and exporting of cash payments to evade oversight by banks, preventing Washington from restricting transactions.
