Iran to Resume JCPOA Talks Considering Deeds, Not Words, FM Tells Borrell

Hossein Amirabdollahian and the European Union foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, held a meeting on the sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday to discuss various issues, including the JCPOA revival and the developments in Afghanistan.

Amirabdollahian underlined in the meeting that the administration of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is pragmatic within the framework of principles and pursues practical results in the talks on the revival of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

He said the new Iranian administration will resume the JCPOA talks, but the criterion it uses will be the actions of the other parties, no their comments.

“The new (Iranian) administration is reviewing and studying the file of the negotiations that have been held. It would not either waste the time, or accept the US’ unconstructive behavior, or make the country wait for the old hollow promises.”

Denouncing Washington’s unconstructive policies on Iran and the JCPOA, Amirabdollahian said the administration of US President Biden criticizes the policies of his predecessor Donald Trump verbally, but it is following the very same approaches regarding Iran in practice.

Hailing Borrell’s efforts to pursue the JCPOA negotiations, Amirabdollahian said the US is a hundred percent mistaken to think that pressures on Iran would yield results.

“The people of Iran have proved that they give a harsh response to pressure and threat,” he added.

The foreign minister also deplored the European troika -the UK, France and Germany- for hurrying Iran into resuming the nuclear talks instead of pressuring the US, the violator of the JCPOA, into returning to its commitments.

“All parties must bear in mind that the JCPOA must have tangible results for Iran and we must observe the removal of the illegal sanctions in practice. All parties must prove their commitment to the JCPOA by taking firm steps in practice. This is unacceptable that the US sometimes makes positive comments on the one hand, and on the other hand imposes news sanctions against Iran,” he stated.

Amirabdollahian finally made it clear that Iran will cease its remedial measures if the other JCPOA parties resume honoring their commitments in a verifiable manner.

“This is not a difficult job for the Americans to honor their JCPOA commitments and for the three European states to end their inaction,” he concluded.

For his part, Borrell pointed to the EU’s efforts to salvage the JCPOA, saying the nuclear deal’s success benefits not only Iran and the P4+1, but the region and the world.

Highlighting the European Union’s criticism of Trump’s destructive move to withdraw from the JCPOA, he said the new US administration’s decision has opened a new chapter for salvaging and reviving the nuclear deal.

Briefing the Iranian foreign minister on the advances and challenges in the Vienna talks about the JCPOA, Borrell said the US’ accountability for the current conditions is clear, but all parties should join hands to achieve a consensual result.

“The first step in this regard is to set a date for the Vienna meeting,” he noted.

Borrell also called for trust-building measures by all parties involved in the JCPOA talks.

Elsewhere in the meeting, the two diplomats talked about the latest developments in Afghanistan, the cooperation between Iran and the EU on the settlement of problems of the Afghan refugees, and the necessity for the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan.