Iran following framework set by Leader for nuclear talks in Vienna: President
Iran has no rush in the nuclear negotiations, but will not miss any chance either, said President Rouhani speaking to a group of political activists on Tuesday afternoon, IRNA reported.
“If the US moves with honesty, the negotiations will reach a conclusion in a short time,” President Rouhani said.
In an address on April 14, Ayatollah Khamenei warned against protracted talks aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), reiterating that Iran will only return to its commitments under the accord once it has verified that all US sanctions have been removed.
Speaking during an online speech to mark the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, the Leader of the Islamic Republic told Iranian diplomats to proceed with the negotiations, but cautioned them the talks should not drag on as this is harmful to the country, Press TV reported.
Iran, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China have been in talks this month in an effort to keep alive the landmark agreement which has been unravelling since former US president Donald Trump pulled out of it in 2018 and imposed tough sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The withdrawal prompted Iran to, in turn, ramp up its nuclear activities a year later.
The talks are aimed at determining which sanctions the United States should lift before rejoining the deal and which measures Iran should take to come into compliance with the accord.
Washington says Tehran should stop the countermeasures it has been taking in line with Article 36 of the JCPO before the US returns.
Iran, however, says the US should first lift all the sanctions put in place under the US former president Donald Trump administration before the Islamic Republic returns to full compliance. Tehran believes it was the White House that complicated the circumstances by the pullout, which in turn prompted Iran to take the remedial measures.
Iran and the remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal wrapped up another round of talks in the Austrian capital with negotiators voicing satisfaction with efforts to revitalizing the troubled accord.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement the meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission revolved around “the latest status of technical discussions and initial drafts”.
According to the Foreign Ministry’s statement, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who leads Iran’s delegation in Vienna, said “talks are moving forward despite difficulties and challenges”.
“The Iranian delegation will halt the talks whenever negotiations move toward excessive demands, time killing and irrational bargaining,” Araqchi said.
He said Saturday that “a new agreement is taking shape” and that “parties can start working on a joint text.”
But before the Tuesday talks, Araqchi rejected the notion that Iran could settle for any “temporary agreement”.
Araqchi underlined that Iran only uses the talks to discuss the potential of that “final step” toward elimination of the oppressive sanctions.
Source: Iran Daily