Tag: NUCLEAR DEAL

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has said “a few but important” issues remain in Vienna nuclear talks to be solved, official news agency IRNA reported…reports Asian Lite News

The Vienna talks have reached a critical stage, and “still a few but very important issues remain in our talks” aimed at removing US sanctions and restoring the 2015 nuclear deal, said Abdollahian on Wednesday in a joint press conference with his visiting Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Al Busaidi.

Iran has “made it clear to the West and Josep Borrell, EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, that we would not cross Iran’s red lines in the Vienna talks,” he added.

The Iranian Foreign Minister revealed that many messages have been received from the US about direct talks, but Iran wonders the benefit of direct dialogue and whether there would be a difference from what happened in the past, Xinhua news agency reported.

ALSO READ: Vienna talks: Iran says deal ‘closer than ever’

“So far, we have heard mostly positive messages from the Americans, but still no practical action has been taken to prove their good will,” he said.

“We are optimistic about the Vienna talks and hope that the few critical issues that remain in the negotiations will be resolved in the coming days with realism from the West,” Abdollahian added.

Former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, which prompted the latter to drop some of its nuclear commitments in 2019 and advance its halted nuclear program.

Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks have been held in the Austrian capital between Iran and the remaining parties, namely Britain, China, France, Russia plus Germany, with the US indirectly involved in the talks, to remove anti-Iran sanctions and revive the landmark deal.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has warned the West against challenging Tehran’s red lines in the Vienna talks aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal…reports Asian Lite News

Amir Abdollahian made the remarks during a meeting with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg on Saturday on the sidelines of the ongoing 58th Munich Security Conference here, reports Xinhua news agency.

“Tehran’s definite choice is to respect national interests and not to cross the logical and legitimate red lines of Iran,” Abdollahian said.

The Western parties to the deal must make their final decision on whether to end their current “economic terrorism and inaction”, he added.

He also said that Iran favours the “quality” of any possible deal in the ongoing talks in Vienna.

Rejecting some comments of “setting fake deadlines”, Amir Abdollahian said that Iran believes the “quality” of an agreement should be assessed within the context of time.

“If the legitimate demands of Tehran are respected today, an agreement can be reached in Vienna. In these last steps, it is important for the other party not to make miscalculations and not to drag the negotiations to the media space,” he added.

The top diplomat further emphasised his country’s determination for “a good agreement”, expressing the hope that parties to the negotiations can play an effective role in securing Iran’s “legitimate rights”.

ALSO READ: Raisi urges removal of anti-Iran sanctions

On Friday, Abdollahian said the talks between Iran and the world powers in Vienna are “very close to a good and accessible agreement”.

Former US President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, which prompted the latter to drop some of its nuclear commitments one year later and advance its halted nuclear programs.

Since April 2021, eight rounds of talks have been held in the Austrian capital between Iran and the remaining parties, namely the UK, China, France, Russia plus Germany, with the United States indirectly involved in the talks, to revive the landmark deal.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has ruled out the possibility of an “interim deal” in ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and the world powers in Austria’s capital Vienna…reports Asian Lite News

“Iran is looking for a stable and reliable agreement and will not accept anything less than that. The quality of the agreement is important to us, nothing less and nothing more,” Saeed Khatibzadeh made the remarks on Monday in his weekly press conference.

“An interim agreement has never been on Iran’s agenda, and we have a serious need to reach a qualitative and substantive agreement, and I hope Washington has realised this,” he said, adding “obtaining guarantees is very important” to reach a stable and reliable agreement, Xinhua news agency reported.

Commenting on the status of the talks in Vienna aimed at removing anti-Iran sanctions and restoration of 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), he said “good progress” has been made in some areas, and it is important that all parties in Vienna have agreed that the US should not leave a possible agreement again.

ALSO READ: Iran ready for direct nuclear talks with US

The JCPOA was signed between Iran and the world powers in July 2015. However, the US government under former President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement in May 2018 and reimposed its unilateral sanctions on Iran.

In the current talks in Vienna since April 2021, Iran has insisted on obtaining guarantees that the succeeding US governments would not drop the deal again.

The talks have mainly focused on the removal of US sanctions against Iran and the return of Washington to the dealer from which it withdrew in 2018…reports Asian Lite News

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh has ruled out the likelihood of a temporary deal between Tehran and remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the JCPOA, in the ongoing Vienna meetings, saying that such a deal will not meet the Islamic Republic’s demands.

“We should all try to make sure that the return of the United States to the JCPOA is accompanied by necessary guarantees and verification, and that the lifting of sanctions which should have been done under the JCPOA is done effectively,” said Khatibzadeh, adding that none of these can be achieved by an “interim” agreement.

Making the remarks in his press briefing on Monday, Khatibzadeh noted that “we are looking for a stable and reliable agreement, and no agreement that does not have these two components is on our agenda”, reports Xinhua news agency.

He emphasised that Vienna talks are only about ensuring a full, responsible and verifiable return of the US to the JCPOA, and Iran will not accept the raise of any issue in the Vienna talks out of the framework of 2015 deal.

ALSO READ: Iran disputes ‘decreasing’ in Vienna talks

As for the progress of the negotiations in Vienna, he said that “we negotiate neither pessimistically nor optimistically. We negotiate based on reality”.

On January 8, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani, said that the disputes over lifting sanctions are decreasing in Vienna talks.

New rounds of nuclear talks began on November 29, 2021 in Vienna, after a nearly six months of hiatus, between representatives of Iran and those of the P4+1 group, comprising the UK, China, France, Russia plus Germany, with the US indirectly involved.

The talks have mainly focused on the removal of US sanctions against Iran and the return of Washington to the dealer from which it withdrew in 2018.