Iran’s Stances on JCPOA Revival Talks Unchanged: Spokesman
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry emphasized that Tehran’s position on the negotiations for salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal has not shifted at all and the country still insists on the complete removal of the sanctions in a verifiable manner.
Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters on Monday that the parties involved in the Vienna talks on the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action are reaching the final stage.
“In short, in view of the progress made thus far, it could be said that we are approaching the end of the Vienna talks. There are certain outstanding issues, but the important point is that issues resolved so far outweigh those that remain unresolved,” he said, adding, “We have come a long way so far, but the rest of the way is not going to be an easy path.”
“We hope the other parties (to the JCPOA) would be able to make their decisions. In that case, we would achieve an agreement, which would be desirable for all,” the spokesman said.
Khatibzadeh added that all participating delegates believe that good advances have been made in the talks, “but they are also in agreement that some key issues must be first dealt with by higher authorities in their respective countries.”
“The consensus in our country is that firstly, the US sanctions must be removed in a verifiable way and secondly, demands outside the JCPOA’s framework have nothing to do with this deal. It has been said (by Iran) time and again that as soon as the nuclear agreement is implemented in full (by other parties) and this is verified, the Islamic Republic of Iran will restart full implementation of its commitments,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman said, Press TV reported.
He underlined that Iran’s position has not changed since the commencement of the talks in Vienna.
“We demand the removal of sanctions followed by verification before our country restarts fulfilling its commitments. On the other hand, the United States as the violator of the JCPOA, must give necessary assurances (that it will not leave the deal again),” Khatibzadeh said.
Reflecting on certain speculation about a possible change in the US’ sanctions policy against Iran under the administration of President Joe Biden, Khatibzadeh said, “The failure of the ‘maximum pressure policy’ has become evident to experts since a long time ago. This policy has not reached any of its goals.”
“During the past four decades, various governments in the United States have imposed a vast spectrum of sanctions against Iran, but in reality and based on confessions by Americans officials, this country has failed to achieve its goals through sanctions and has got nowhere so far,” he added.
