News / Politics

Sanctions removal must be carried out precisely: Iran FM

Monday, 18 January 2016 8:58 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 18 January 2016 11:14 AM ]

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) and the visiting President of the Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies, Mars Di Bartolomeo, meet in Tehran on January 17, 2016. (Photo by Tasnim news agency)

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the termination of sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear program must be carried out in strict accordance with the nuclear agreement reached between Tehran and the P5+1 group of countries.

In a Sunday meeting with the visiting President of the Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies, Mars Di Bartolomeo, in Tehran, Zarif expressed hope that “the issue of the removal of sanctions [against Iran] would be carried out strictly” in line with the nuclear agreement.

On Saturday, Zarif and Federica Mogherini, the European Union foreign policy chief, read out a joint statement in the Austrian capital, Vienna, announcing that the JCPOA had indeed come into force.

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – plus Germany had finalized the JCPOA in Vienna on July 14, 2015.

In his meeting with Di Bartolomeo, Zarif also emphasized the need for promotion of relations between Iran and Luxembourg, calling for the setting up of joint ventures between the two countries.

Touching upon the crisis in Syria, Zarif said only “political and peaceful” means can settle the crisis in the Arab country.

“Unlike others, the Islamic Republic of Iran doesn’t want those countries which can contribute to the peaceful settlement of the conflict [in Syria] to be marginalized in the peace process in Syria,” he said.

Di Bartolomeo, for his part, called for the expansion of all-out cooperation between Tehran and Luxembourg City.

The comments come as diplomatic efforts are underway at the international level to help resolve the deadly turmoil in Syria which has claimed over 260,000 lives since 2011.

Three rounds of UN-backed negotiations have so far been held in Vienna and New York on the situation in Syria since last October. A fourth session is also scheduled to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, in late January.

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