Iran urges US 'political statement' on JCPOA revival

Iran urged the US Congress on Wednesday to issue a "political statement" that Washington will stay committed to a possible agreement in in the course of the talks in Vienna to restore the 2015 nuclear deal.

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian demanded the US guarantee on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in an interview with the Financial Times published on the ministry's website.

"As a matter of principle, public opinion in Iran cannot accept as a guarantee the words of a head of state, let alone the United States, due to the withdrawal of Americans from the JCPOA," Amir-Abdollahian said.

The minister underlined that he had asked Iranian chief negotiator Ali Baqeri Kani to propose to the Western parties that "at least their parliaments or parliament speakers, including the US Congress, can declare in the form of a political statement their commitment to the agreement and return to the JCPOA implementation".

The Vienna talks involve Iran as well as Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia directly and the United States indirectly. They aim to return the US to the nuclear deal, including through the lifting of sanctions on Iran, almost four years after its unilateral withdrawal.

The 2018 pullout prompted Iran a year later to roll back key parts of nuclear program gradually in retaliation for Washington’s “maximum pressure” campaign and the European’s inaction to live up to their commitments under the deal.

“Iran’s commitments are as clear as a mathematical formula. It is absolutely clear what we are supposed to do and how these measures will be verified through the IAEA [the UN nuclear watchdog]. Therefore, the other side can have no concern; but we remain concerned primarily about the guarantees [that the US would not withdraw],” Amir-Abdollahian pointed out.

The talks in the Austrian capital resumed in late November after a pause in June. The US had announced its readiness to hold direct talks with Iran to resolve the remaining issues, but Tehran has said preconditions must be met first.

"We are not ready to enter into the process of direct talks with the US if we do not have a clear and promising outlook to reach a good agreement with sustainable guarantees in front of us," said the top Iranian diplomat.

If the intentions of the US are "genuine", they should take some "practical and tangible steps on the ground before any direct talks and contacts can take place," he added.

“This could include unfreezing billions of dollars of Iranian petrodollars stuck in foreign central banks because of Trump’s sanctions or a presidential executive order to lift some of the sanctions.

Expressing Tehran’s frustrations with Washington’s position as weeks of talks in Vienna appear at risk of stalling, Amir-Abdollahian said: “We are facing problems during this period because the other party lacks a serious initiative.”

Amir-Abdollahian said that Iran wants the negotiations to lead to the “total lifting” of sanctions. The challenge, however, was that the Biden administration was only willing to remove the economic sanctions imposed by Trump, he said.

“This is not all we are looking for. That Trump unilaterally and unjustly imposed sanctions on real and legal entities in Iran under some allegations as Iran’s missile program, regional issues or human rights is not acceptable,” Amir-Abdollahian said. “This is also one of the challenges which remains on the negotiating table in Vienna.”

‘Empty shell’

The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said on Twitter on Wednesday that the JCPOA has become an "empty shell".

"The United States and Europe failed to meet their obligations under the JCPOA. The deal has now become an empty shell for Iran in the economic sphere and the lifting of sanctions. There will be no negotiations beyond the nuclear deal with a non-compliant America and a passive Europe," Ali Shamkhani said.

Source: Iran Daily