Iran Reiterates Necessity for US Removal of Sanctions, Full Implementation of N. Deal
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian reiterated the country's position that the US should remove all sanctions against Iran, amid the new round of talks between Tehran and the world powers in Vienna on Thursday.
Full and effective implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and improvement of commercial relations and sustainable economic cooperation with Iran have to be the main aim of the Vienna talks, Amir Abdollahian wrote in the Russian daily Kommersant.
He referred to the resumption of the talks after six rounds of negotiations which had remained unsuccessful due to the US stance and excessive demands, and said the main aim behind the Vienna talks is fulfillment of the rights of the Iranian people and removal of the sanctions which have been imposed unilaterally by the US on Iran after Washington's May 2018 withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
The US May 2018 measure has been called illegitimate in the international arena, the foreign minister underlined.
He went on to say that the world community believes that such measure is an indication of being indifferent to the UN charter, which hurts tranquility and peace worldwide.
Although the three European members of the JCPOA see the US approach as unacceptable, they follow Washington's stance and do nothing effective, the foreign minister wrote.
That the new US administration follows the destructive approach of the former American president Donald Trump is questionable, Ami Abdollahian said.
But, no one can question Iran's serious determination, good will, and full faithfulness to the international nuclear agreement, he added.
No doubt, the US through its measures is after preventing Iran and other signatories to the JCPOA from benefiting from the advantages of the deal and the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, Amir Abdollahian said.
The foreign minister stressed that the issue of verifying whether the US' removal of the sanctions is practical or not is also important.
He then underlined that Iran will never accept any talks beyond the framework of the JCPOA, adding that Iran has good faith and is determined to hold successful talks.
Former US president Donald Trump unilaterally left the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (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.
Iran's chief negotiator to the Vienna talks Ali Baqeri Kani announced on Tuesday that Iran and the five other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal are set to start a new round of negotiations on December 9.
Baqeri Kani, who also serves as Iran's deputy foreign minister for political affairs, stressed that Tehran's two proposed drafts in the seventh round of talks last week can seriously advance the negotiation process.
The senior Iranian diplomat said the two proposed drafts were nothing new and were in compliance with the texts that had earlier been agreed upon by both sides during the previous six rounds of the talks, but with some amendments and additions meant to make up for the shortcomings.
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 administration of US President Joe Biden had voiced willingness to compensate for Trump's mistake and rejoin the deal, but it has retained the sanctions as leverage.
After a five-month hiatus, envoys from Iran and the G4+1 group of countries, Britain, France, Russia, and China plus Germany, began on November 29 the seventh round of talks in Vienna to resurrect the JCPOA.
At the talks, the first under President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi the Iranian delegation presented two detailed draft texts: one on the removal of US sanctions and the other on Iran's return to its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA.
The five-day intensive negotiations ended on December 3 after the diplomats returned to their capitals for more consultations.
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