Tehran
Iran’s foreign minister has said an agreement can be reached with world powers over its nuclear deal if Western parties have the will and intention to do so.
In an exclusive interview with international media outlet on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said an agreement could be reached if all sanctions were lifted. An eighth round of negotiations aimed at restoring Iran’s landmark 2015 nuclear deal is under way in Vienna, where Iran is still looking for guarantees that US sanctions will be lifted.
The talks over the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), are taking place between Iran and world powers that are signatories to the deal. The United States, which unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018, is participating in the talks indirectly.
The JCPOA provided sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme. But after the US withdrawal, Iran abandoned some curbs and is now using advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium up to 60 percent.
“Lifting sanctions means lifting all forms of sanctions stipulated in the nuclear agreement, and the sanctions that Trump reimposed contradict the terms of the agreement,” Amir-Abdollahian told Al Jazeera.
“We demand guarantees that include not imposing any new sanctions, and not reimposing sanctions after lifting them under any pretext,” he added.
The Iranian official said the most “practical model” for this would be when it comes to Iran exporting oil and obtaining revenues through the country’s own banking system.
“There’s an informal and an indirect exchange of message with the Americans in Vienna – we hear good words from that delegation, but what is important to us is to see practical and serious American actions,” he Amir-Abdollahian.
