US Must Remove Sanctions to Show Seriousness in Nuclear Negotiations

President Ebrahim Raeisi said the United States’ readiness to remove its sanctions could be an indication of its earnestness in negotiations that aim to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. 
“Iran is serious in this regard, but needs to witness seriousness in the other side as well,” he said in a televised interview on Monday evening, Presidet.ir reported. 
He added that his administration is relentlessly pursuing work on developing “resistance economy” and would not link the country’s market and people’s livelihood to the nuclear negotiations. 
“Yet, Iran has never quit the negotiating table and we are definitely resolved [to engage] in result-oriented talks,” he said. 
Negotiations started in the Austrian capital Vienna in April to work out how the US and Iran can resume compliance with the nuclear deal that has been unravelling since Washington pulled out in 2018 and Iran rowed back on its commitments in response to reimposed American sanctions.
The talks have been stalled since June, following a change of government in Iran. 
The new Iranian administration has been reviewing the past rounds of discussions and has recently shown signs of readiness to return to the negotiating table in Vienna. 
In this context, Enrique Mora, the European Union’s envoy who coordinates the talks, met Iran’s potential new negotiator Ali Baqeri on Thursday in Tehran, and the two are set to continue their preparatory talks in Brussels in coming days.
Iran demands a complete and verified removal of sanctions before reversing its countermeasures, but the US is reportedly refusing to lift all its bans unconditionally. 

Linked to Asia   

Raeisi later pointed to Iran’s recent admission to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, calling on all trades people to use this highly lucrative platform.  
“By becoming a member of the Shanghai Organization, we have actually made connections with economic infrastructures of the Asian region,” he said. 
Iran’s present status in regional trade is inappropriate and must improve, according to the president. 
Highlighting the country’s great capacities to increase exports to the region, especially neighboring states, he said current figures can definitely be doubled. 
Along this line, over 30 new business attaches have also been dispatched to Iranian embassies worldwide in a bid to activate the country’s economic diplomacy, Raeisi said. 
“In near future, we will have a meeting with Iranian ambassadors in regional countries centering on trade and economic subjects,” he said. 
Asked about the administration’s position on the situation in Afghanistan, Raeisi reiterated that Iran supports the establishment of an inclusive government which represents all ethnic groups. 
Apart from that, however, the urgent issue is the presence of the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group as an invention of Americans, according to the president. 
He said this puppet group can destabilize Afghanistan while Iran’s strategy is to promote integrity and stability. 
“We call on rulers in Afghanistan to stand against the crimes that [the IS] commits and the slaughter of Muslim people,” he said. 
Tehran is set to host foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighbors in a one-day meeting next Wednesday, where they will continue discussions held virtually in the first round in September. 
Participants will focus on efforts to help the formation of an inclusive government as well as the future prospects of peace and security in Afghanistan. 
The president later underlined the priorities of his administration, namely nationwide vaccination against the coronavirus disease, controlling inflation to boost people’s livelihood, reforming regulations governing foreign exchange rates, building one million houses per year, and weekly provincial trips.
“Despite all threats and sanctions, I see a very bright future for the country,” he said.