Zakani ‘not opposed to negotiation, but will protect Iranians’ rights, dignity’

Presidential candidate Alireza Zakani has criticized the President Hassan Rouhani administration for “failing to get the necessary guarantees” in a nuclear deal with major world states that was struck in 2015, saying he will work to secure the Iranian nation’s rights, which he said were violated after the United States unilaterally left the deal.

At a presser on Saturday (May 29), the Principlist candidate described the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as a “faulty and deficient agreement since we failed to get enough guarantees from the other side” during the talks that led to the deal.

He also described the so-called “snapback” mechanism in the JCPOA as “the sword of Damocles” and said, “Our nuclear program was worth much more.”

The mechanism allows any of Tehran’s partners in the JCPOA to flag what they consider a violation. They could then submit their concerns to a dispute resolution panel. If those concerns remain unresolved, the anti-Iran sanctions lifted by the deal would automatically snap back into place after 30 days.

“I will seek to get back the Iranian nation’s rights under the JCPOA,” Zakani said. “I will definitely do this.”

When the JCPOA was signed, Zakani was the head of the parliamentary committee tasked with examining the accord, which then stood between Tehran and six countries, including the US. Washington, however, unilaterally pulled out of the deal less than two years later. The Rouhani administration was criticized for having failed to foresee a US withdrawal in the event of a transfer of power from the Democratic to the Republican Party in the United States.

“We witnessed inaction and unprofessional moves on the part of the [Iranian] negotiating team,” Zakani said, stressing that his potential administration would not negotiate in that manner.

The lawmaker also criticized the former parliament for “turning a blind to the national interests” of the country and “rushing” to approve the agreement without taking the time to carefully examine it.

“In future foreign policy, you will see that the equations will quickly change,” said Zakani.

Earlier, he had said that the United States would “beg” and lift the sanctions on Iran if he was elected president.

Americans would ‘beg,’ remove all Iran sanctions if I win: Presidential candidate Zakani

Iranian presidential candidate Alireza Zakani says the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program is staged by Western governments in pursuit of their “neo-colonialist” goals, and that the Americans will ‘beg’ and remove all the sanctions on Iran if he wins the election.

Praise for Iran-China deal

Elsewhere, the lawmaker praised the 25-year strategic partnership agreement that Tehran and Beijing finalized a few months ago.

He said he had fully read the text of the deal, which could be “a historic opportunity” for Iran and China to broaden their cooperation in various fields, although the agreement is non-binding.

The presidential candidate thanked all those who sponsored the agreement inside the country, above all Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

‘Smart diplomacy’

He underlined the need for the country to make use of “active, smart” diplomacy in pursuit of its foreign agenda.

“As part of active, smart diplomacy, the capacities of the region, the neighbors, the [anti-Israel] resistance front, and the emerging powers can be used, while paying special attention to ties with the East, besides properly dealing with the West,” Zakani said.

On the subject of negotiations with Saudi Arabia, he said he was interested in such talks, which he said would be fruitful, but that did not mean his administration would “give in to their wrong policies.”

“We are seeking to defend our country’s position and we do not see anything more important than building Iran,” Zakani said.

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