US has to lift sanctions before return to JCPOA: FM spox

"The effective, altogether and verifiable removal of sanctions is a condition for the US to return to the JCPOA, and that is the main point of our talks in Vienna,"Saeed Khatibzadeh, the spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said about the pre-conditions for the return of the United States to the Iranian nuclear deal or the JCPOA on Friday ahead of the start of Vienna talks between Iran and the P4+1 on November 29.

Khatibzadeh added, "If the United States enters the Vienna talks with the same approach and is ready to lift the sanctions altogether in a verifiable manner, the agreement will definitely be attainable in the shortest possible time."

"However, we want guarantees that the United States will not ridicule  international law again," the spokesman said.

Khatibzadeh stressed, "The United States, including the current US administration, has shown that it cannot abide by its guarantees and the signature of the US President is not as reliable and valuable as they claim, so it is natural that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the negotiating team receive the necessary guarantees." 

He added, "Nevertheless, these are issues that are discussed in detail and operationally in the negotiation room."

The spokesman also criticized the European powers for their indifference to the US violations of the JCPOA, stressing that " One of the issues going to be discussed in the Vienna talks is that JCPOA members must return to their commitments under the deal."

He stressed that Iran has suffered a lot from their indifference and violations that have to be discussed.

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