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Need to Draw on Domestic Capacity for Economic Upliftment

Need to Draw on Domestic Capacity for Economic Upliftment
Need to Draw on Domestic Capacity for Economic Upliftment

 Europe should accelerate the process aimed at salvaging the 2015 nuclear agreement, a senior official said on Monday, adding that Iran should rely on its own capabilities to improve the economy.    

“Iran is not fully satisfied with the pace of the process…We want the European countries to continue their efforts in this regard more seriously and quickly,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi told a press briefing in Tehran, IRNA reported.  

European powers have been struggling to ensure Iran gets enough economic benefits to persuade it to stay in the deal after the US withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in May.

Tehran has demanded that the remaining signatories to the deal implement it with an economic package before the reimposition of US sanctions.  

Some US sanctions took effect after a 90-day wind-down period ending on August 6, and the rest, most notably related to oil exports, will be enforced in November    

Qasemi said some progress has been made by other participants to save the deal through a series of measures but added that Iran needs to rely more on national resources to improve its economic conditions and resist the unjust US penalties.  

“We have to depend on our own capabilities and the potential of the country’s economy, and then look towards collaboration with other countries.”

  Election Meddling Claims

Asked about a warning by the White House national security adviser John Bolton about potential Iranian interference in the US mid-term elections, Qasemi said Washington is levelling accusations against others while it is long infamous for dangerous meddling in the elections of other countries.

“They believe others are the same as the Americans.”  

Bolton, a known neocon and strong supporter of Israel,    claimed on Sunday that Chinese, Iranian and North Korean attempts to interfere in the mid-term US elections in November, like Russia’s efforts, is “a sufficient national security concern”.

“I can say definitively that it’s a sufficient national security concern about Chinese meddling, Iranian meddling and North Korean meddling that we’re taking steps to try and prevent,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”

  Missile Program

On German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s concern over Iran’s missile program, Qasemi said the program is not up for negotiation.  

Speaking ahead of her meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Berlin on Saturday, Merkel said Germany continues to support the nuclear deal, but noted that her country is “following Iran’s activities with concern, be it the missile program or the situation in Syria,” RT reported.  

“The missile program and the JCPOA are two separate issues and are not related. We have already stated our position on the missile issue and have reiterated that this matter is not negotiable.”

 

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