No way for US to rejoin Iran deal without sanctions removal, says Iranian foreign minister

Iran’s foreign minister says there is no way for the United States to return to the 2015 nuclear agreement without the removal of sanctions imposed on the Iranian nation after Washington’s withdrawal from the multilateral agreement.

“In the course of the previous six rounds of talks, it became clear to Iran that the United States did not realize that there is no way for it to return to the JCPOA (nuclear deal) without removing all the sanctions it imposed on the Iranian people in the period after Washington’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal,” Hossein mir-Abdollahian said in an article published by Russia’s daily Kommersant on Monday.

In his article, Amir-Abdollahian complained that the current situation around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, emerged because the US has spared no effort to kill the deal over the past four years.

On the contrary, he added, Iran “has been doing its utmost to keep this agreement alive.”

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.

Vienna talks: Iran says no interactive, flexible attitude seen on other side

Tehran has said it has seen no interactive, flexible attitude on the other side during the latest round of the Vienna talks.

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 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 P4+1 group of countries — Britain, France, Russia, and China plus Germany — began on November 29 the seventh round of talks in the Austrian capital Vienna to resurrect the JCPOA.

The intensive negotiations ended on December 3 after the diplomats returned to their capitals for more consultations.

During the discussions, Iran submitted two proposed drafts to the other parties concerning the removal of sanctions and Tehran’s nuclear commitments, saying a third draft is on the way as well.

In Vienna, Iran gives JCPOA parties draft documents on sanctions removal, nuclear steps

Iran says it has provided the parties to the 2015 nuclear deal with draft documents containing its proposals and positions on the removal of the sanctions imposed by the US on Iran after leaving the 2015 nuclear agreement and Tehran’s nuclear steps.

According to Amir-Abdollahian, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the JCPOA, binds all the signatories to support the JCPOA and “refrain from actions that could be harmful to it.”

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, despite the fact that the West has not implemented its commitments under the JCPOA, is again ready for outcome-oriented negotiations with G4+1 – for the sake of demonstrating its goodwill and with an eye on the removal of the unilateral, illegal sanctions – to reach a good agreement,” he noted.

Good deal ‘within reach’ if they remove bans, end blame game

Also on Monday, Amir-Abdollahian stressed in a post on his Instagram page that Iran’s proposed drafts are completely within the framework of the JCPOA and have nothing beyond the nuclear pact.

“As the talks continue, it is expected that the other parties will come to Vienna with specific proposals and responses, including the removal of sanctions, and will stop the blame game. In this case, a good deal is within reach. We will pursue the path of diplomacy and negotiations in Vienna under the logic of dialog and understanding,” he said.

The foreign minister further emphasized that the Islamic Republic is “serious about reaching a good agreement. It must be comprehensive so that people can feel the results in a tangible way.”

He also rejected as “a sheer lie” the alleged reports about Iran’s 90% uranium enrichment.

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