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Iran to Act in Proportion to Other Side’s Actions in Future Vienna Talks

Iran demands a full and verifiable removal of all US sanctions as well as enough assurance that no party would quit the agreement or violate its terms again
Iran to Act in Proportion to Other Side’s Actions in Future Vienna Talks
Iran to Act in Proportion to Other Side’s Actions in Future Vienna Talks

In future talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran’s measures will be commensurate with the extent of action by the other negotiating sides, according to the country’s top diplomat. 
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a meeting with Swiss parliament speaker Andreas Aebi in Tehran on Tuesday, ISNA reported. 
Negotiations began in April in Vienna, Austria, to restore the nuclear deal which has been on the verge of collapse since the United States pulled out in 2018 and Iran was compelled to row back on its commitments in response to American reinstated sanctions.
Iran demands a full and verifiable removal of all US sanctions as well as enough assurance that no party would quit the agreement or violate its terms again. 
Tehran says it would reverse its countermeasures afterwards to resume full compliance with the agreement, which is formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. 
The US has reportedly been selective, refusing to lift all its bans unconditionally. 
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the administration of US President Joe Biden has entered the Vienna talks with the same unilateralistic approach as its predecessor Donald Trump’s.
“The American government has adopted a unilateralistic policy regarding the sanctions lifting as well,” he said in a radio program on Tuesday. 
He said Washington wishes to remove only its own intended bans while Tehran insists that all sanctions must be lifted along with sufficient guarantee to Iran. 
If an agreement is reached without gaining enough assurance, the previous behavior could happen again, according to Khatibzadeh. 
“We insist that the negotiations must be aimed at getting sufficient guarantee for upholding the interests of the Iranian nation,” he said.

 

 

Talks Set to Resume  

The Vienna talks have been at pause since June, after a change of government in Iran. 
The new administration has confirmed that it would definitely return to the talks with a new team, but after a review of the past six rounds of talks is concluded. 
Amir-Abdollahian said the government’s evaluation will be finalized “in the near future.”
The top Swiss lawmaker said Bern is willing to help bring the views of the JCPOA parties closer together. Several Swiss cities hosted the negotiations that led to the 2015 nuclear deal.  
Khatibzadeh had also said a day earlier that the coming days would see more diplomatic activity with regard to the JCPOA and the stalled negotiations.
He assured that Iran would not lose an hour to finalize the date of the negotiations after the review process is completed. 
Yet, both officials refused to announce a definite date while the US and other western powers have been pressing Iran to come back to the talks without delay. 
The spokesman reminded that Iran is a member of the JCPOA along with the other five parties and it is the US which has exited and adopted a sanctions policy against Tehran. 
He noted in the radio program that a change in certain methods and goals is “natural” given that a new government has come to power in Iran.  
Meanwhile, a Russian top diplomat cautioned that the talks on the JCPOA should not resume “from scratch”. 
“During the previous six rounds of negotiations significant and very useful progress has been achieved,” Russia’s negotiator Mikhail Ulyanov said on Twitter. 
 

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