No Concessions in Vienna on Iranian Nation’s Rights: Spokesman
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman stressed that there will be no concessions on the rights of the Iranian people in the ongoing talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal.
Speaking at a weekly press conference on Monday, Saeed Khatibzadeh said the inalienable rights and nuclear achievements of Iran will be safeguarded for sure.
He said major progress has been made in the negotiations in Vienna between Tehran and the P4+1 group of countries over the deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
However, he decried the Western sides for lacking the resolve to make political decisions critical to the negotiations.
The spokesman added that the pending issues in the talks are “the most difficult, strategic and serious issues that must be resolved.”
He emphasized that “We are still awaiting decisions that Europe and the US must make,” noting that Tehran has not seen their will to make such decisions yet.
Commenting on remarks by Israel’s prime minister, who said recently that he expected an imminent agreement in Vienna, Khatibzadeh said the statements made by Israeli leaders always aim to “wage a psychological war” against the Islamic Republic.
“What the Zionist regime’s rulers are saying is intended for Washington and European capitals,” he said.
Israeli premier Naftali Bennett said on Sunday that Iran may “shortly” agree on a new deal with major powers, but warned that it will be weaker than the original 2015 agreement.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Khatibzadeh said “difficult” negotiations are currently underway on the economic guarantees that the US must provide to Iran.
Former US president Donald Trump unilaterally left the JCPOA in May 2018 and re-imposed the anti-Iran sanctions that the deal had lifted. He also placed additional sanctions on Iran under other pretexts not related to the nuclear case as part of his “maximum pressure” campaign.
Following a year of strategic patience, Iran decided to let go of some of the restrictions on its nuclear energy program, resorting to its legal rights under the JCPOA, which grants a party the right to suspend its contractual commitments in case of a non-performance by the other side.
The US administration of President Joe Biden had voiced a willingness to compensate for Trump’s mistake and rejoin the deal, but it has retained the sanctions as leverage.
Envoys from Iran and the P4+1 group of countries — Britain, France, Russia, and China plus Germany — have been holding negotiations in the Austrian capital for roughly 10 months in a bid to resurrect the JCPOA.
The eighth round of the talks has resumed since February 13 after it was put on pause as diplomats returned to their capitals for consultations.
