TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said, the current U.S. government should stop following the maximum pressure policy by former President Donald Trump against Iran.
“The Americans took our time in six (previous) rounds of negotiations, to preserve Trump’s failed legacy,” said Khatibzadeh, referring to the six rounds of negotiations between Iran and the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which were held in Austria’s capital Vienna, from Apr to June and were suspended after Iran’s presidential elections.
Iran has entered into the new rounds of talks with good intentions and real will for fruitful talks and “I advise … the real parties to seize this window of opportunity because this window will not remain open forever,” he said, during his weekly press conference.
“Equally, we are moving towards lifting oppressive sanctions and neutralising the pressure lever,” said the Iranian spokesman, noting, the composition of the Iranian negotiating team in Vienna shows the extent to which Iran will focus on lifting sanctions.
Asked whether Iran would hold direct talks with the United States in Vienna, Khatibzadeh gave a negative answer.
“No. There will be no bilateral talks with the U.S. delegation,” he said.
Six rounds of talks were held between Iran and P4+1, namely Britain, China, France, Russia plus Germany, with the United States indirectly involved, from Apr to June. The new round of talks began in Austria’s capital, Vienna yesterday, after a hiatus because of the Iranian presidential elections in June.
The U.S. government, under Donald Trump, withdrew from the 2015 agreement in May, 2018, and unilaterally re-imposed sanctions on Iran. In response, Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments to the deal since May, 2019.
Iran’s new negotiating team has set out demands for the revival of the nuclear agreement, including the removal of all U.S. sanctions, verification mechanism for the removal of embargo, and guarantees from the U.S., the next administration will not breach the deal.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK