A day after Iran announced it was curbing its compliance with the JCPOA, the E3 and EU issued a joint statement expressing "great concern" at the move. "We strongly urge Iran to continue to implement its commitments under the JCPOA in full as it has done until now and to refrain from escalatory steps", the Europeans asserted, adding that "we reject any ultimatums". Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif riposted that the statement "is why the JCPOA is where it is: the U.S. has bullied Europe - and the rest of the world - for a year and the EU can only express 'regret'". "Instead of demanding that Iran unilaterally abide by a multilateral accord", Zarif argued, the "EU should uphold its obligations - including the normalisation of economic ties".