JCPOA Talks Must Yield Tangible Results: Iran’s FM

Speaking in a televised interview on Monday, he addressed the issue of Iran’s talks with the signatories of the JCPOA, saying the talks had to yield the Iranian nation a “tangible” outcome.

The talks began earlier this year to examine the likelihood of the revival of the deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), after the US’s 2018 withdrawal from it.

Amirabdollahian advised that during the negotiation process, Washington drop the language of threat against the Iranian nation, and rather “behave politely.”

“The Islamic Republic welcomes whatever talks that are governed by logic,” he stated.

Elsewhere, he put all of Afghanistan’s woes down to the United States’ misdeeds concerning the Central Asian country.

“All of Afghanistan’s problems are rooted in the Americans’ deeds,” he told a televised interview on Monday. “If foreigners let go of Afghanistan’s people, those people can (then) take decisions for their own country’s future,” the foreign minister added.

Iran, he said, backs a “safe” Afghanistan, where the Afghan nation can exercise their right to self-determination and form an all-inclusive government that represents all Afghan ethnicities.

The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 under the so-called banner of “war on terror.” The invasion toppled the Taliban militant group, but it soon rallied and started establishing effective presence in the majority of Afghanistan’s expanse.

Washington announced a full withdrawal in April amid a full-scale offensive by the Taliban aimed at renewing its rule over Afghanistan. The announcement only helped the militants to consolidate their grip over the beleaguered country.

Iraq, another regional country, that has taken the brunt of American interference has likewise “suffered much damage as a result of the US’s 2003-present trial-and-error policies” towards the Arab nation, the senior Iranian diplomat noted.

This is while “foreigners cannot play any role in the region’s development, and this (foreign interference) is not to the region’s benefit,” he asserted.

In the same context, he underlined that the Islamic Republic welcomes whatever gathering that could attract the region’s own members, rather than outside meddling.

Amirabdollahian addressed the contents of his participation in one such convention in Baghdad recently, which saw him sit down with many regional officials, including those from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

He criticized the conference’s forgoing Syria, wondering how the event managed to ignore Damascus, while inviting many others, which are not even Iraq’s neighbors.

The foreign minister said during his talks with his Saudi counterpart, the latter congratulated him on the occasion of the start of his ministerial duties.

According to Amirabdollahian, the Saudi official said Riyadh would resume its diplomatic relations with Tehran during the incumbency of Iran’s new government, which is steered by President Ebrahim Raisi.

The Saudi kingdom broke off its diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic in early 2016. It cited earlier protests in front of its diplomatic facilities in Tehran and Mashhad, against Riyadh’s earlier execution of Saudi Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

Amid constant accusations and reluctance on the part of the kingdom, Tehran would, however, keep urging the country not to close the door to remedial negotiations. 

Amirabdollahian, however, said his talks with the Saudi foreign minister did not feature any actual “negotiations” towards the resumption of the relations.

Separately, the official pledged determination on the part of the Foreign Ministry to help due and proper implementation of Iran’s comprehensive strategic partnership deal with China.

The two sides inked the historic agreement earlier this year, setting out a roadmap for the quality of their strategic ties for the upcoming 25 years.

“We will pursue this model towards (helping Iran) draw benefit from the capacities that are offered by other countries of the region too, including Russia and India,” Amirabdollahian noted.

His first day in office, the official further said, was spent holding a meeting aimed at expediting imports of coronavirus vaccines.

The foreign minister expressed delight that the imports had picked up speed and vowed that the ministry would try to expedite the process even further.