Call for Removal of All US Maximum Pressure Components

Iran insists that all components of the United States’ so-called maximum pressure campaign against Tehran must be revoked so that an agreement can be reached on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a senior Iranian diplomat said.
“All components and elements of the maximum pressure must be removed so that the people of Iran can completely enjoy the benefits of the JCPOA,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a regular press conference on Monday, ISNA reported. 
The maximum pressure campaign against Tehran was launched by former US president Donald Trump after a unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA, which had promised sanctions relief to Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program. 
The campaign included the reimposition of lifted sanctions and introduction of new ones, which eventually prompted Tehran to scale back its nuclear commitments. 
US President Joe Biden then came to power with a promise to rejoin the JCPOA, making way for indirect negotiations starting last April in the Austrian capital Vienna to work out how both sides can resume compliance. 
The talks have made significant progress but have been suspended for about a month over few remaining issues, including the terror designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, which came as part of the pressure campaign. 
Iran demands the delisting of the elite military group, but Washington has so far refused to do so. 

Last Initiatives 

Khatibzadeh said what has remained between Iran and the US is more than one issue, all of which revolve around the removal of all maximum pressure components and the Iranian nation fully benefiting from JCPOA.
He said Washington has been spending its energy and time, trying to preserve parts of its pressure campaign. 
“The American side has set up barriers so as to minimize the Iranian people’s benefits from JCPOA.” 
No issue is left to discuss between Iran, the P4+1 (the other five JCPOA members) and the European Union as the coordinator of the deal, according to the spokesman, and what remains is the political decision that Washington needs to take.
“We have sent our last initiatives and will leave for Vienna as soon as Iran and the P4+1 receive proper responses [from the US],” he said, but did not specify the details of the proposals. 
“We are not yet in a point where we feel the US is not ready to provide a response to Iran. Of course everyone should know that the window of opportunity will not remain open forever,” Khatibzadeh said. 
He added that although the JCPOA is still alive, its fate is not clear.
“We don’t know whether we can reach an agreement or not, because the US has not shown the required will yet,” he said. 
He also emphasized that the US cannot resolve other bilateral issues through the JCPOA, stressing that the Vienna talks only aim to restore the nuclear deal and anything beyond that would be a maximalist demand.