Nuclear Deal Impossible without Complete Removal of Sanctions

(Tasnim) – Securing a comprehensive deal is not possible without the complete removal of sanctions imposed against Iran, the Iranian envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.

Reza Najafi referred to the Geneva agreement (the Joint Plan of Action) and considered the complete removal of sanctions as a key component in the comprehensive deal.

He made the remarks on Thursday at a meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors held to study budget for monitoring and verifying Iran’s civilian nuclear program.

“A final deal is only possible if all parties mutually respect their rights and responsibilities and enter the final round of negotiations with goodwill,” Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA added.

Pointing to the good progress of recent talks between Iran and the Group 5+1, Najafi said any deal should secure Iran’s rights within the framework of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) wrapped up seven days of intensive nuclear talks in Vienna on November 24 without clinching a comprehensive deal. They decided to extend talks on Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program for seven more months.

Iran and the Sextet are trying to work out a lasting accord aimed at ending the longstanding dispute over Tehran’s civilian nuclear activities.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Najafi reacted to Canada’s groundless accusations against Iran, and stressed that the Canadian regime has always kept deadly silent over the real nuclear threat in the Middle East, namely Israel’s secret nuclear weapons program.

Iran has repeatedly emphasized the peaceful nature of its nuclear energy program and reassured the world that it has nothing to hide regarding its civilian atomic program.