TEHRAN, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that the latest remarks by the French foreign minister about the Iranian nuclear deal are "irresponsible" and "nonconstructive".
Jean-Yves Le Drian's remarks severely hurt the efficiency of the deal endorsed by the UN Security Council, said Abbas Mousavi, the ministry's spokesman, in a statement.
A day earlier, Le Drian said France is considering triggering a mechanism within the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that could lead to UN sanctions against Iran given Tehran's repeated "breach" of parts of the 2015 accord.
The 2015 Iranian nuclear deal is formally known as JCPOA.
The mechanism involves a party referring a dispute to a Joint Commission consisting of Iran, Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany and the European Union, before going to the UN Security Council if the commission cannot resolve it.
If the UN Security Council does not vote within 30 days to continue sanctions relief, sanctions under previous UN resolutions would be reimposed.
Following the U.S. unilateral move to pull Washington out of the JCPOA in May 20018, plus Europe's sluggishness in facilitating Iran's banking transactions and its oil exports, Iran was prompted to renege step by step on its nuclear commitments.
Beside the recent move to begin enrichment activities in underground Fordow nuclear facilities, Iran has, since May, stated to build stockpiles of nuclear fuel and enrich low-grade uranium to a higher level of purity.
It also started up advanced centrifuges to gradually boost the country's stockpile of enriched uranium and research activities, all of which had been restricted by the nuclear deal.
Iran is exercising its own right stipulated by the JCPOA, said Mousavi.
The JCPOA doesn't let the trigger mechanism to be activated against Iran because Iran is taking remedial measures in response to the U.S. "illegal and unilateral" withdrawal and restoration of sanctions as well as "the blatant violation of the JCPOA by the EU partners," he added.
